Men's Soccer Battles No. 13/20 UConn, Ultimately Falls 2-1

Saturday, October 20

Storrs, Conn.

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

4-8-3

UConn

9-2-2

Temple

UConn

Men's Soccer Battles No. 13/20 UConn, Ultimately Falls 2-1

10.20.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

STORRS, Conn. – A converted second-half penalty kick and a controversial UConn goal in the 88th minute were enough to propel the No. 13/20 Huskies (9-2-2, 3-0-2 AAC) to a last minute 2-1 win over the Temple men's soccer squad (4-8-3, 1-3-1 AAC) on Saturday evening. For the second game in a row, Temple's goal came off the boot of freshman Elias Hellgren Villegas.

How it Happened
> The score sheet is far from an accurate depiction of tonight's match, as possession was equally distributed throughout the 90 minutes of action. In the first 15 minutes, the Owls maintained the ball in the UConn defensive third almost entirely but were unable to capitalize on the intense pressure. The first real chance of the game for either team came in the 10th minute, when Justin Hahn got a shot of to force Husky goalkeeper Austin Aviza to make his first save of the game.
> In the 14th minute, UConn had their first opportunity when awarded a free kick just outside Temple's 18 yard box. The shot came off the boot of Dylan Greenberg, who sent it on frame but was denied by junior goalkeeper Simon Lefebvre to keep the score tied at 0-0. Lefebvre came up clutch again in the 32nd minute, when UConn's Cole Venner sent one towards the inside of the left post, but Lefebvre dove to his left to shut down the opportunity with the tips of his fingers.
> Just before half, the Owls earned the first goal of the game after multiple threatening opportunities. Leandros Lillis found himself with the ball in the center of the field, nutmegging his defender to send the ball through to Jalen Campbell. Campbell threaded his defenders to find fellow freshman Hellgren Villegas to the left of the box, who slid the ball past the UConn keeper's left side and into the net his second goal of the season.
> In the 63rd minute, a UConn player was brought down just on the edge of the goal box to ultimately give the Huskies a penalty kick opportunity. Abdou Mbacke Thiam stepped up to the line, converting the shot from the penalty spot for his 10th goal of the season.
> The Owls did not skip a beat in their offensive pressure following the UConn goal, as Justin Hahn broke through the Husky defensive almost immediately, ripping a dangerous shot on frame to force the UConn keeper to make one of the biggest saves of the match.
> Possession bounced between the squads for the remainder of play, with dangerous chances coming from both sides. The Owls' defensive unit put on an outstanding performance, showing multiple players wearing Cherry and White with pride as they stepped up to deny break throughs from one of the best offenses in the country.
> In the 88th minute, a high Temple back line forced UConn's Abdou Mbacke to loft a hail mary shot from distance over the head of Lefebvre. While the sideline referees lifted their flags to call the play offsides, the call was ultimately overruled after a lengthy discussion to hand the Huskies the game-winner with a minute and a half left to play.

Game Notes
> The central midfield consisting of Herman Doerner, Andres Charles-Barerra and Lukas Fernandes along with Leandros Lillis battled as a cohesive unit, making crucial defensive plays all over the field and transitioning play well to propel Temple's offense forward.
> Hellgren Villegas netted his second goal in as many games to give the Owls a first-half lead over the Huskies. The two points bump his total to six on the season alongside Hahn, who also has six from two goals and two assists. Campbell's assist is his third of the season, earning seven points so far in his freshman campaign.
> The Owls battled relentlessly against one of the nation's top teams, taking the edge in corners (9-7) and saves (5-1). It was another close match for the squad, as they still are yet to lose a match by more than one goal.

Up Next
> The Owls will return home to the Temple Sports Complex on Tuesday, Oct. 23 when they host local-foe, Penn. The Philadelphia Soccer Six match-up is set to kick-off at 7:00 p.m., and admission is free for all who attend.