Women's Soccer Travels to Saint Joseph's Friday; Hosts Lehigh Sunday

PHILADELPHIA - Temple women's soccer takes on another two-game weekend as the Owls head to crosstown Big 5 rival Saint Joseph's on Friday at 5 p.m. before returning home Sunday to face Lehigh with a 6 p.m. start time.

Scouting the Owls
>The Owls enter this week with a 1-1 record. They had a thrilling 3-2 overtime win last Friday against Fairleigh Dickinson for the season opening win. They then hosted La Salle in a hard fought Big 5 rivalry game, but ended up coming just short as the Explorers scored two late goals.

>Temple relies on its senior leadership. Midfielder Elana Falcone scored the Owls' first goal of the season and has 21 career points which is the most of any active Owl. Forward Gabriella McKeown is still one of the Owls' top weapons as she finished first on the team with four goals and 10 points last year.

>The number of players that head coach Seamus O'Connor continues to use on a game to game basis truly shows how deep this Owl team is. Nineteen players took the field for both Friday's and Sunday's matches and 22 out of the 28 players have seen the field so far throughout the first two games.

>After the first two games of her collegiate career, midfielder Julia Dolan was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll. In her first game, she scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give the Owls a 3-2 victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, and she has three shots through the first two games.

>The freshmen have stepped up in a big way for the Owls early this year. Dolan and defenders Aisha Brown and Marissa DiGenova have started at least once in the opening two games for the Owls, and six out of the eight freshmen have seen playing time.

>Temple has had an assist on two out of its three goals this season (.667). They came from junior midfielder Sarah McGlinn on a flick to Falcone for the first goal of the season, and from redshirt senior forward Kayla Cunningham on a corner to Dolan in overtime for the winner against Fairleigh Dickinson.

>Junior goalkeeper Jordan Nash has seven saves through the first two matches so far.

Scouting the Hawks

>The Hawks are 1-0 this season after getting a win over Bucknell 3-2 last Sunday. The first game scheduled for last Friday at Lafayette was cancelled due to inclement weather.

>The Hawks are led by head coach Jess Mannella who is in her 16th season with the program.

>Saint Joseph's was picked to finish third in the Atlantic 10 by a vote of the league's coaches, and juniors Paige Bergman and Dakota Mills were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.

>Hannah Racis, Kylie D'Ambra and Gabrielle Vagnozzieach have one goal each for the Hawks and goalkeeper Grace Bendon has two saves so far.

Scouting the Mountain Hawks
>Lehigh is 0-0-1 after having a 0-0 draw vs. Monmouth in its season opener

>The Mountain Hawks are led by head coach Eric Lambinus, who is in his eighth season with the program.

>Sophomore goalkeeper Sam Miller was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week after recording four saves in the season opener vs. Monmouth.

Series History vs. Saint Josephs
>Temple is 4-11-3 all-time against Saint Josephs. However in their last two matches, the Owls have defeated the Hawks including the most recent one in 2015 where they won 3-1.

Series History vs. Lehigh
Temple is 4-4-1 all-time vs. Lehigh. They fell short to the Mountain Hawks 2-3 in overtime the last time they faced each other in 2015.

Up Next
The Owls have a two-game homestand next week as they play Rider Thursday night with a 6 p.m. start time and Mount St. Mary's on Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

Women's Soccer Travels to Saint Joseph's Friday; Hosts Lehigh Sunday

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Players Mentioned

Aisha Brown

Kayla Cunningham

Marissa DiGenova

Julia Dolan

Elana Falcone

Sarah McGlinn

Gabriella McKeown

Jordan Nash

Temple University Athletics