Temple University Athletics
Temple University
Villanova
Field Hockey Begins BIG EAST Play on Friday at Villanova; Hosts Longwood on Sunday
9.19.13 | Field Hockey
Live Stats (Villanova) l Live Stats (Longwood) l Live Webcast (Longwood)
PHILADELPHIA - The 14th-ranked Temple field hockey team will open the BIG EAST season on Friday, Sept. 20 when the Owls (4-2) travel to nearby Villanova (2-4) for a 7:00 p.m. contest. Temple returns home for a non-conference game on Sunday at 1:00 p.m., hosting Longwood (3-4).
Live stats are available for the Villanova game through the above link, while live stats and a free webcast are available for the Owls' home game on Sunday.
TEMPLE EARNS FIRST NATIONAL RANKING IN 12 YEARS; OWLS NOW RANKED 14TH
On Sept. 10, for the first time in 12 years, Temple field hockey was ranked in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll. That poll had the Owls ranked 11th, and they are now ranked for a second-straight week, coming in at #14 on Sept. 17. Last week's ranking was the first NFHCA national ranking for the Owls since the program was briefly ranked 17th in September, 2001. Prior to the late 90's, the poll was run through the NCAA. In 1990 and 1991, the two seasons in which Temple advanced to the NCAA Regional Final, the team was ranked as high as eighth in the NCAA Coaches Poll.
AMBER YOUTZ NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Amber Youtz was named the BIG EAST Field Hockey Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 9-15 after her record-setting performance for the Owls. Youtz, who was also named the Under Armour Owlsports.com Athlete of the Week, is now the second Temple player in a row to earn the BIG EAST honor, after teammate Molly Doyle won the award two weeks ago.
Youtz scored four goals and added two assists for 10 points in the Owls' 6-0 win against Monmouth on Sept. 14. The point total matches the highest total of any NCAA Division I player this season. Youtz's four goals are a career high and are the most scored at Temple since All-American Alli Lokey did it in 2007. It is only the second time since 1992 that a Temple player has scored four or more goals in a game. For Youtz, it was the third hat trick of her career. She did it in back-to-back games last year, becoming the first player to achieve that feat since Hall-of-Famer Jane Catanzaro in 1990.
TEMPLE IN THE NCAA STATS
Amber Youtz is averaging 3.33 points per game to rank second among all players in the nation, along with 1.33 goals per game to rank fourth. She has scored eight goals and added four assists in just six games for Temple. Her career totals of 34 goals and 84 points both rank ninth all-time in program history, and Youtz is only in her junior season.
Temple is ranked second among all Division I teams in saves percentage at .833, which is entirely due to the performance of Lizzy Millen, who has played every minute in the cage for the Owls. As a team, Temple is also ranked fourth in the nation in assists per game at 3.50, and ninth in the nation in points per game at 9.17.
SO FAR IN 2013...
The Owls began the season with a 4-1 win vs. Ohio State out of the Big Ten, and a week later they defeated their second Big Ten team with a 3-0 shutout and upset of #6 Penn State on the road. Temple also has a 3-2 overtime win over former Atlantic 10 foe Richmond under its belt. The only blemishes on the Owls' record so far are a loss to #2 Maryland, winners of the national championship in two of the past three seasons, and a loss at Delaware, now ranked 16th nationally. Following that loss, Temple rebounded quickly with a 6-0 win vs. Monmouth.
MOLLY DOYLE NAMED BIG EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK; LIZZY MILLEN NAMED TO HONOR ROLL
Senior Molly Doyle was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week on Sept. 9 after scoring two goals in a 3-0 win at #6 Penn State and another vs. Richmond. She recorded an assist on the Owls' third goal against the Nittany Lions, and had the game-winning assist vs. Richmond in overtime. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen has been outstanding in the cage for Temple, and for the second-straight week she was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll. Her 17 saves vs. #2 Maryland tie for fourth so far for saves in a game among all NCAA Division I goalkeepers.
SCOUTING VILLANOVA/ALL-TIME SERIES
The Wildcats are 2-4 so far, and lost their most recent game at Kent State, 4-1. Temple and Villanova have not played each other since 2005, with the Wildcats winning that game, 2-1. Temple leads the all-time series, 9-3-0, but the majority of those games were played in the late 80's and early 90's.
SCOUTING LONGWOOD/ALL-TIME SERIES
The Lancers are 3-4 overall and come into Sunday's game with two straight wins, 8-1 vs. Appalachian State and 3-2 vs. Radford. Senior midfielder Stacey de Grandhomme leads Longwood with six goals and 13 total points. Temple leads Longwood 3-0 in the all-time series, which includes a 5-3 win on the road last season.
NEW SEASON, NEW CONFERENCE
After 25 years of playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Temple field hockey is now an associate member of the BIG EAST Conference. The majority of Tempe's sports teams now compete in the newly-created American Athletic Conference, but too many of the schools in that league do not play field hockey. For this year, Connecticut, Louisville, ODU and Rutgers are also associate members of the BIG EAST for field hockey. The Owls advanced to each of the last 10 A-10 Tournaments, and will be looking to build upon that success in their new league.
