For the first time, the score did not matter to the Temple women’s lacrosse team, not even for head coach Bonnie Rosen and her staff.

On Sept. 23, 2017, nobody recorded how many goals the Temple women scored or how many saves their goalkeepers made. Instead, they looked around the field and realized that playing an exhibition with alumni was more significant than winning the game.

Not all the alumni players were recent graduates. Some went as far back as 1998 like graduate Erin Campbell Curtis.  Other alumni players included Jen Jefferson Cudzillo (2002), Alayna Tyson Russell (2004) and Erin Malany Gustafson (2005).

Recent 2017 graduates Rachel Barile, Carly Demato, Brooke Williams and Krissy Gallivan joined them.

“We love having this alumni game because it reconnects the past with the present,” Rosen said. “It’s a great day for our current players to get a chance to see the players who’ve come before them.”

Former Owl and 2013 graduate Meghan Clothier knew a lot about the current Owls lineup because she was Monmouth’s assistant coach when they played against Temple in their inaugural game at Howarth Field last February. Those two teams never before squared off against each other.

Temple won, 18 – 16.

“I was playing against Temple players whom I coached and scouted against,” Clothier said. “I also knew Temple’s tendencies from being a member of the team for many years.”

“It’s so different being in the cage defending the goals than being on the sidelines calling the shots (as a coach),” Clothier added.

Temple senior co-captain and attacker Kira Gensler found the alumni game to be both fun and competitive.

“It definitely creates an atmosphere where there’s a lot less stress and a lot more fun to see if they still have their game and to put my best game forward,” Gensler said.

One minor problem Gensler had in the stress-free alumni game was that the alumni players knew how she played.

“They had that extra inside scoop from being an opponent after being a teammate,” Gensler said.

For example, they knew that while on the attack, she would frequently switch her stick from her left hand to her right, so they tried to prevent that.

“Whenever they stopped me, I’d just do another move,” Gensler said. “They know that I can be a real pest.”

Gensler is looking forward to captaining the team this spring.

“It’s rewarding to be able to serve the team and to be that kind of liaison between the coaches and the team and do what I can to be a leader,” Gensler said.

Last year, Gensler scored 14 goals, including her first career hat trick when the Owls beat Butler 19-7 last April.

The Owls went 13-5 last season. Lambeth, Barretta, and Gensler will be three returning Owls to watch for this lacrosse season.   

Story by: David Block

Photos by: Xinyi Huang

Football game day is an important part of students’ lives at Temple University. Game day typically includes tailgates, food, cherry and white clothing all over the Lincoln Financial Field, and of course―Temple football!

Students love Game Day because they get to celebrate with their fellow classmates and watch their Temple Owls fight for a win.

Some students, alumni, and players have certain “game day rituals” that they do before every game that they believe brings the team good luck.

If you are a part of the recruiting team for Temple football, like sophomore sports and recreation management major, Jimmy Delgatto, Richie’s might be a part of your routine on game day.

“My game day ritual is always starting off game day with a breakfast sandwich from Richie’s. I get it for free because I work for football,” Delgatto said.

Other students, such as sophomore accounting and finance major, Katie Riesberg, use social media in order to get in the game day spirit.

“Before game day, I like to get ready for the tailgate and then send a good morning snapchat that says, ‘It’s game day!’ to all my streaks. This gets me in the game day spirit because it shows people that I bleed Cherry and White,” Riesberg said.

Even though she is only a freshman, Brittany Grant, a theater major at Temple, already has a game day ritual that she believes will always lead to a victory for the Owls.

“Every Temple game day I put on my Temple gear, head over to the stadium, and right before I go into the stadium, I kiss my ticket for good luck! It’s worked for every home game that I’ve gone to so far and it’s going to keep working!” Grant said.

Members of the Cherry Crusade are passionate fans of the football team, and some take game day very seriously. Carli Showmaker, a junior who double majors in media studies and production and advertising, has her own set of game day rituals.

“Since my freshman year, I have been taking my GoPro to every Temple Athletics event! It all started at the Bowl Game when Temple Athletics offered students with Wild Cherry Passes an amazing deal to travel to the bowl game down in Florida! While down there, I met the Cherry Crusade. I made a video of our trip with my GoPro footage and it gained so much attention! My friend Jeremy and I even have signature face paints that we do at every football game, and we have been put in many different newspaper articles and have appeared on ESPN multiple times because of it!” Showmaker said.

Even alumni, such as Brett Kratchman, a 1983 FOX School of Business graduate, still partake in game day rituals. When asked what these rituals include, Kratchman said,

“I look at my father’s letterman’s jacket from 1959. Then put on my lucky jersey or sweater depending on if they won the last time I had it on.”

Whether you have any rituals or not, game day at Temple is always full of fun and high energy!

There are plenty of opportunities to attend a Temple football game at the Lincoln Financial Field, and it should be on every Temple students’ bucket list to experience game day at least once.

If you have a strong passion for sports, the Cherry Crusade could be a great place for you to celebrate all the different sports teams here at Temple.

Whether you are a part of the team or a part of the crowd, this is the perfect time to show your cherry and white pride! Let’s go Owls!

Story by: Lisa Cunningham

Photos by: Travis Sherel