PHILADELPHIA - What had been a terrific game nearly all the way through ended as a heartbreaking loss for #16 Temple field hockey on Senior Day, as the Owls gave up two late goals and lost 4-3 to #4 UConn. Temple (13-6, 3-2) led or was tied for nearly the entire contest, but the Huskies (14-3, 5-0) tied it up for a final time with less than five minutes left, and scored the game-winner with a minute and a half remaining.
UConn won the BIG EAST regular season title with a 5-0 record, and Temple is the #3 seed heading into next week's BIG EAST Tournament. The Owls will face #2 seed ODU in a semifinal at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 7. UConn will face fourth-seeded Providence in the other semifinal at 3:30 p.m. Providence College is serving as the host of the tournament, and both semifinals as well as the final will be broadcast live on the BIG EAST Digital Network.
Saturday marked the final home game for Temple's three seniors, Nicole Kroener, Lizzy Millen and Amber Youtz. All three were a huge part of the Owls' highlights, with Youtz getting a goal and an assist, Kroener recording an assist, and Millen making eight saves against the defending national champs. The seniors did not have ideal weather for their big day, with very chilly temperatures, strong winds at times, and persistent rain throughout the game.
In addition to strong play from the seniors, Temple got a big game from freshman Rachael Mueller, who scored twice in a span of three minutes to give the Owls a 3-1 lead late in the first half.
By halftime, Temple had taken just four shots, but had scored on three of those. On the Owls' first penalty corner in the eighth minute, Youtz made it count thanks to assists from Kroener and Rachel Steinman. It was Youtz's 68th career goal, tying her for third place all-time at Temple.
UConn got an equalizer in the 15th minute on an unassisted goal from Casey Umstead.
The 1-1 tie stood for the next 15 minutes, until the Owls got a second corner opportunity and once again took advantage. On the play, Mueller redirected the ball into the cage off an assist from Katie Foran.
Less than three minutes later, Mueller took a ball from Youtz and gave Temple a 3-1 lead. The two-goal margin nearly stood at the half, but UConn's Sophie Bowden scored with 47 seconds left in the period when she got a ball from Roisin Upton on a corner.
Most of the second half was a stalemate with Temple clinging to its 3-2 lead, but UConn's Charlotte Veitner, the Huskies' leading scorer, came alive in the final five minutes.
Veitner scored both the game-tying and game-winning goals with aggressive play in front of Temple's cage, getting past the Owls' defense and beating Millen one-on-one.
The Owls will now look ahead to a rematch against the ODU Monarchs, who narrowly won the regular season meeting by a score of 3-2 on their home field.
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