NEW YORK – Twice the Columbia women's lacrosse team would tie things up in the second half after trailing by as many as four goals, but Temple ended the matchup with three straight goals to win 15-12 at Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Junior attackers Alexandria Absey and Chelsea Witteck combined for eight of the Lions' 12 goals in the outing. Absey matched her career high with a game-high five goals, while Witteck notched her first hat trick of the season.
 
Senior midfielder Orna Madigan and sophomore attacker Payton Lill each recorded six draw controls in the game, helping Columbia to a 19-10 advantage in the statistical category.
 
Temple (4-3) got out to an early lead with back-to-back goals to start the game, but Columbia (0-5) replied with consecutive scores of its own to knot the game at 2-2 with just over four minutes ticked off the clock. The scoring went quiet for more than five minutes before the Owls took a three-goal lead with 15:36 to play in the first half. Absey ended Temple's run off an assist from sophomore Sydney Paoletti.
 
After the Owls had their largest lead of the game at 8-4, the Lions would cut the deficit to one heading into the locker room using free-position goals from Absey and junior midfielder Devon Stuzin, plus a score from Fallon Quinn.
 
To open the second period, Temple scored three-straight but Columbia roared back with four consecutive goals to tie things up at 11-11 with 14:28 left to play. The teams traded goals once again as Witteck made it 12-12 on a free-position goal with 9:21 on the clock, but the Owls ended the contest with three straight to seal the outcome.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Schlageter saw all 60 minutes in the cage for Columbia, making six saves in total.
 
The Lions scored a season-best seven free-position goals in the game, going 7-of-8 from the 8-meter arc.
 
Columbia resumes Ivy League action this Saturday, March 7, traveling to face the Cornell Big Red at 1 p.m. ET in Ithaca.
 
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