Temple (9-7, 4-3 Atlantic 10 Conference) will travel to Amherst, MA, to open the A-10 tournament with a semifinal matchup against Duquesne (10-6, 5-2 A-10) at 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
After losing to Richmond in their final regular season game, the Owls won a three-way tiebreaker to capture the No. 3 seed in the postseason tournament. The Owls had begun the conference schedule with a perfect 3-0 record, but since then have gone 1-3. Each of Temple’s three conference losses have come at no more than two goals.
Senior midfielders Stephany Parcell and Charlotte Swavola have continued to shoulder the load on offense for Temple, averaging nearly six combined goals per conference game. Parcell and Swavola’s offensive production accounts for nearly half of the Owls’ 13 goals per A-10 matchup.
At goalie, senior Meghan Clothier will try to rebound after coming off one of her worst statistical games of the year, allowing her season-high 16 goals on the 24 shots that she faced.
The Dukes ended their regular season defeating three of their last four conference opponents. Duquesne earned the No. 2 seed in the A-10 tournament, after a 16-6 loss to No. 12 UMass. In each of their five conference victories, the Dukes have held opponents under double digit goal totals, outscoring all five 71-21.
The 2012 A-10 rookie of year winner, sophomore midfielder Amanda Kidder, leads the Dukes in goals, total points, shot attempts, ground balls, and caused turnovers.
Among goalies who started and played in all seven conference games, Duquesne junior Kristen Gregory is ranked at the top of the save percentage category, with .518.
In the regular season contest, Temple traveled to Pittsburgh and defeated Duquesne 16-9.
Parcell and Swavola combined for nine total goals, matching the entire Dukes’ offense. Kidder netted more than half of Duquesne’s goals, recording five.
One of the Owls’ keys to victory against the Dukes in the regular season game was a 37-24 advantage in shot attempts, but Duquesne’s fouls and eight yellow cards, also led to several man-up and free position situations for Temple.
The winner of this game will face the winner of the other semifinal matchup between No.1 seed UMass Minutewomen and No. 4 seed George Washington Colonials.
