Men's Soccer Drops 3-2 Heartbreaker at USF

Friday, October 12

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

5-4-2, 2-0-1

USF

3-6-1, 1-2-1

OT 2

TEMPLE

USF

Men's Soccer Drops 3-2 Heartbreaker at USF

10.12.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – It took five goals and almost 100 minutes of action to decide Friday night's match, but after physical back-and-forth play between conference rivals, the Temple University men's soccer squad (4-6-3, 1-1-2) fell in overtime to the USF Bulls (5-5-2, 2-0-2), 3-2. A valiant comeback in regulation by Temple was thwarted by back-to-back USF goals, resulting in the Owls' third overtime loss of the season.

How it Happened
> It was a war zone in Tampa, as both teams fended off multiple scoring opportunities while proving stellar offense throughout the match. Defensive and goalkeeping efforts from both sides kept the game scoreless until the 41st minute. Just before the half, USF notched the first goal of the game when Alex Zis snuck a low free kick past the Temple wall and into the near post for his fourth goal of the season.
> The Owls responded in the 69th minute after various threatening changes throughout the match. Junior Leandros Lillis sent a corner kick soaring into the USF goal box, finding the head of junior defender Nick Sarver who buried it for his first goal of the season.
> Only six minutes later, Sarver found himself high up the field again when he received the ball and distributed it to sophomore Justin Hahn. Hahn took one touch from the left side of the field and sent a beautiful shot into the upper right 90 from over 20 yards out, putting the Owls ahead for the first time in the game.
> USF bounced back in the 83rd minute, when they were able to capitalize on a scrambled ball in Temple's goal box. Despite the Owls relentlessly shutting down the USF offense on multiple occasions, the Bulls were able to connect to catch the Owls off balance. After many seconds of back-and-forth, Emilio Ycaza eventually found the net for the first time this season.
> The equalizer sent the Owls into their sixth overtime period this year, and USF's fourth in the past five games. In the 100th minute of action, the Bulls' offense earned themselves a corner kick from the boot of Alex Zis. The game saw its second corner-kick scoring play when Tomasz Skublak headed his team-leading sixth goal of the season into the net to end the game.

Game Notes
> Temple has not lost by more than one goal all season. Their brick-wall defense of Sarver, Pierre Cayet, Zach Brown and Akeem Prawl along with multiple stellar saves from Simon Lefebvre proved to be a unit that is a force to be reckoned with in their defensive third, hindering many of the 25 shots USF took tonight.
> Tonight's five goal game is good for the most scored in any of Temple's matches this season.
> The overtime match is the sixth of the year for the Cherry and White, marking the most in one season in program history.
> Sarver's team-leading three points on the night came from his first goal and assist of the year. He is now the 10th Temple player to earn at least one point for the squad, contributing from his defensive position.
> Hahn's brilliant goal tonight puts him tied with freshman Jalen Campbell for second most on the team. His six points come from two goals and two assists.

Up Next
> The Owls are on the road again as they head to Pitt on Monday, Oct. 20th to face the Panthers. The non-conference match-up is set for 7:00 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field, and will be streamed live as an ACC Network Extra.