Temple University Athletics
Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University
Women's Soccer Set to Open Season Friday at New Temple Sports Complex
8.16.16 | Women's Soccer
PHILADELPHIA -- Coming off of a record setting year, the Temple Women's Soccer program is ready to embark on what hopes to be another successful season. In 2015, the team finished with an overall record of 12-7-1, 4-4-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The teams' 12 wins sits as the most in program history – beating out the 1991, 2003, and 2015 teams, which all had 11.
This season, the team will host eight games at the brand new Temple Sports Complex, while playing 11 games on the road.
Of their eight home matches, Temple will host Drexel, Towson and NJIT in the non-conference part of the schedule and then welcome conference opponents Memphis, Tulsa, USF, UCF and UConn to the team's new home.
The team will travel to Delaware State, La Salle, Rider, Princeton, Binghamton, Mount St. Mary's and Lehigh before they head into conference play and take the road at Houston, Southern Methodist, East Carolina, and Cincinnati.
After months of construction, the Temple Sports Complex will be ready for opening day. Women's soccer's season opener against Drexel on August 19 will be the first regular season game played by any team at the new facility. The women will share the soccer field with the men's team, while the field hockey and lacrosse team will play at Howarth Field in the complex.
Temple women's soccer head coach Seamus O'Connor is eager for the start of the season and feels the new complex will bring excitement to the team.
"It is a lot of excitement and I hope we can handle it," O'Connor said. "Naturally you're excited to get a new season started, but now to add in playing at a new home field, it just raises the excitement level to a new high."
O'Connor also added that having the new stadium on Main Campus, as opposed to their former home on the Ambler Campus, strengthens the comradery amongst all of the fall sports.
"A new facility means we feel much more a part of the athletics community at Temple," O'Connor said. "We now are on campus a lot more and get to interact with the other teams such as lacrosse, volleyball, field hockey, etc. It is also great that the players can have their friends and professors come watch them perform and that makes them even more proud to wear that Temple jersey and represent such an amazing university. I also believe that it will be a big help for us with recruiting the best players in the country."
One of the big story lines this season is the plethora of new faces around the facility. The team is only returning 13 student-athletes from last season and has added another 13 new faces. O'Connor, who is set to start his fourth season at the helm, has 11 freshman joining the team as well as two transfers.
Of the 13 returners, there are four starters, including goalkeeper Jordan Nash. Nash took over for the program's all-time leader in goals against average, Shauni Kerkoff, after the senior suffered an injury five games into the season.
Nash stepped into the starting job and flourished. In her 19 games played, Nash started all but three and saved 70 shots. She also accumulated a goals against average of 1.02 – good enough to land her on the conference all-rookie team.
Also returning to the starting lineup is senior midfielder Elaine Byerley, junior midfielder Elana Falcone and junior forward Gabriella McKeown. Combined the three tallied 10 goals and dished seven assists for 27 points last season – six of those goals came off the foot of Falcone.
The Owls will likely see sufficient minutes from the newcomers this season, including senior Cydney Niedermyer. A transfer from Nova Southeastern University, Niedermyer was named the 2015 Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In her three seasons at the Division II school, Niedermyer played in 48 games, starting 43, and compiled six goals, four assists for 16 points.
Another newcomer, who is expected to make her presence felt, is freshman midfielder Fran Davis. A native of Bath, England, Davis comes to Temple after being named captain of the U17 England Ladies team. The 5-4 midfielder is expected to make an impact from game one.
O'Connor is hoping for major contributions from his newcomers this year.
"We have a lot of newcomers but it is definitely the most talented group we have had in a while," O'Connor said. "I expect two or three of them to be major contributors in terms of starting or playing major minutes. In addition, a few more should be regular contributors off the bench."
Temple's home games this season will be broadcast live by OwlsTV.
This season, the team will host eight games at the brand new Temple Sports Complex, while playing 11 games on the road.
Of their eight home matches, Temple will host Drexel, Towson and NJIT in the non-conference part of the schedule and then welcome conference opponents Memphis, Tulsa, USF, UCF and UConn to the team's new home.
The team will travel to Delaware State, La Salle, Rider, Princeton, Binghamton, Mount St. Mary's and Lehigh before they head into conference play and take the road at Houston, Southern Methodist, East Carolina, and Cincinnati.
After months of construction, the Temple Sports Complex will be ready for opening day. Women's soccer's season opener against Drexel on August 19 will be the first regular season game played by any team at the new facility. The women will share the soccer field with the men's team, while the field hockey and lacrosse team will play at Howarth Field in the complex.
Temple women's soccer head coach Seamus O'Connor is eager for the start of the season and feels the new complex will bring excitement to the team.
"It is a lot of excitement and I hope we can handle it," O'Connor said. "Naturally you're excited to get a new season started, but now to add in playing at a new home field, it just raises the excitement level to a new high."
O'Connor also added that having the new stadium on Main Campus, as opposed to their former home on the Ambler Campus, strengthens the comradery amongst all of the fall sports.
"A new facility means we feel much more a part of the athletics community at Temple," O'Connor said. "We now are on campus a lot more and get to interact with the other teams such as lacrosse, volleyball, field hockey, etc. It is also great that the players can have their friends and professors come watch them perform and that makes them even more proud to wear that Temple jersey and represent such an amazing university. I also believe that it will be a big help for us with recruiting the best players in the country."
One of the big story lines this season is the plethora of new faces around the facility. The team is only returning 13 student-athletes from last season and has added another 13 new faces. O'Connor, who is set to start his fourth season at the helm, has 11 freshman joining the team as well as two transfers.
Of the 13 returners, there are four starters, including goalkeeper Jordan Nash. Nash took over for the program's all-time leader in goals against average, Shauni Kerkoff, after the senior suffered an injury five games into the season.
Nash stepped into the starting job and flourished. In her 19 games played, Nash started all but three and saved 70 shots. She also accumulated a goals against average of 1.02 – good enough to land her on the conference all-rookie team.
Also returning to the starting lineup is senior midfielder Elaine Byerley, junior midfielder Elana Falcone and junior forward Gabriella McKeown. Combined the three tallied 10 goals and dished seven assists for 27 points last season – six of those goals came off the foot of Falcone.
The Owls will likely see sufficient minutes from the newcomers this season, including senior Cydney Niedermyer. A transfer from Nova Southeastern University, Niedermyer was named the 2015 Sunshine State Conference Defensive Player of the Year. In her three seasons at the Division II school, Niedermyer played in 48 games, starting 43, and compiled six goals, four assists for 16 points.
Another newcomer, who is expected to make her presence felt, is freshman midfielder Fran Davis. A native of Bath, England, Davis comes to Temple after being named captain of the U17 England Ladies team. The 5-4 midfielder is expected to make an impact from game one.
O'Connor is hoping for major contributions from his newcomers this year.
"We have a lot of newcomers but it is definitely the most talented group we have had in a while," O'Connor said. "I expect two or three of them to be major contributors in terms of starting or playing major minutes. In addition, a few more should be regular contributors off the bench."
Temple's home games this season will be broadcast live by OwlsTV.
Players Mentioned
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