PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Despite leading by as much as four goals in the second half, Rutgers women's lacrosse (1-1, 0-0) suffered a tight 12-10 loss to Temple (1-1, 0-0) Wednesday night in Piscataway.
 
With just 2:18 left in the game and the score tied, 10-10, Temple's Olivia Thompson – who led the game with six goals – converted a pass from Abby Overman to put the Owls ahead, 11-10. The Scarlet Knights elected to pull their goalie in an attempt to tie the score with just 1:25 to play, but TU's Courtney Taylor closed out the Temple win with an unassisted score on RU's open net with 59 seconds left for the 12-10 final.
 
The Owls used a 16-8 advantage on the draw and outscored RU, 8-4, in the second half to secure the win.
 
"I just think top to bottom we played a pretty sloppy game both in our execution and with our decision making," said head coach Laura Brand Sias. "We played way to much defense and had a rough day on the draw control, which hurt things by putting our middies in compromising situations. That's when we need to step up and make better decisions on the offensive side of the ball."
 
Senior Allie Ferrara and junior Samantha Budd both produced hat tricks in the loss, as Budd and sophomore Taralyn Naslonski led the way with four points a piece for Rutgers. Naslonski and freshman Marin Hartshorn each added two goals to aid in the scoring effort.
 
Senior goalie Devon Kearns had six saves and five ground balls, while classmate Christine DiLullo corralled four ground balls and caused two turnovers on the defensive side.
 
Rutgers enjoyed a strong first half, started with an unassisted strike from Naslonski at the 28:53 mark. Both teams would trade goals before Budd started a 3-0 scoring run off her first goal of the game. Back-to-back man-down goals from Ferrara and Hartshorn gave the Scarlet Knights their biggest lead of the half at 6-3 with 3:24 to go in the opening period. The Owls would add on one more goal as RU entered the locker room possessing a 6-4 advantage.
 
The Scarlet Knights continued strike on the offensive end to start the second half, as Budd weaved through a host of Temple defenders and found the back right of the net at the 28:41 mark. Hartshorn followed with her second of the day to make it an 8-4 game with 27:56 to go, RU's biggest lead of the contest.
 
As Temple began to cut into the Rutgers' lead, Naslonski's free position shot made it a 10-8 game in favor of the Scarlet Knights with 12 minutes to play. However, the Owls closed the game on a 4-0 run for the win.
 
Rutgers returns to HighPoint.com Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 16 against Marist. The game will begin at 3 p.m. ET.
 
Follow Rutgers Athletics on Facebook and Twitter for all of the latest news and updates. For specific updates regarding Rutgers women's lacrosse, follow the program Facebook, and on Twitter (@rulaxbrand) and Instagram (@rulaxbrand). Fans can receive timely information, including special offers and giveaways throughout the year on both social media outlets along with www.ScarletKnights.com. For additional updates, please download the Gameday App.