Temple University Athletics
Owls Fall To Charlotte, 1-0, In A-10 Opener
9.29.06 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 29, 2006
AMBLER, PA - Missed opportunities hurt the Temple men's soccer team as they opened their Atlantic 10 Conference slate with a 1-0 loss to Charlotte Friday afternoon at Ambler Field. With the setback, the Owls fall to 1-7-1 (0-1-0) on the year, while the 49ers improve to 5-3-2 (1-0-0).
The Owls, who recently ended a scoreless streak of over 500 minutes, looked to get on the board early. Senior Ryan Heins and sophomore Ben Marucci were active on the offensive end, keeping the Charlotte defense on their heels. Despite several good looks at the net, the Owls couldn't capitalize. On defense, Temple was aggressive and was able to keep Charlotte's attack at bay for the majority of the opening frame. Sophomore goalkeeper Bryant Hosler made several acrobatic saves to keep the game scoreless deep into the half.
Charlotte freshman Andre Lee finally got the 49ers on the board in the 39th minute. Lee took a long pass from Paul Begue and was able to streak by the Owls' defense, hammering home a shot just out of the reach of a diving Hosler. Temple could not get anything going in the final five minutes and went into halftime trailing by one.
Much like the opening period, the Owls opened up the second half strong. Temple had multiple opportunities to knot the game up, as Charlotte played much of the half with its backs to the wall. Despite controlling the tempo of the game, the offense could not find its rhythm. The team's frustration mounted with each missed opportunity, resulting in very physical play. The Owls finished the game with 14 total fouls. Augustin Coly gave the Owls their best shot to score when his header in the 84th minute sailed just wide of the net.
Hosler was able to keep the Owls within striking distance and finished the game with four saves. Charlotte keeper David Martin made one save in recording the shutout.
Temple returns to action this Sunday at 1:00 pm when it takes on the Richmond Spiders at Ambler Field.
