Men's Soccer Downs Tulsa on Senior Night; Clinches AAC Tournament Berth

Saturday, October 27

Temple Sports Complex

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

5-8-4

Tulsa

5-9-2

Tulsa

Temple

Men's Soccer Downs Tulsa on Senior Night; Clinches AAC Tournament Berth

10.27.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple University men's soccer squad (5-8-4, 2-3-1) emerged victorious on a cold and wet Saturday night, defeating the Tulsa Golden Hurricane (5-9-2, 1-5-0 ), 1-0. The Owls recognized their six seniors as they played their final game at the Temple Sports Complex, leaving with smiles on their faces after securing one last home win and clinching a spot in the American Athletic Conference playoff bracket.

How it Happened
> The Owls knew what was at stake under the lights tonight at the Temple Sports Complex, and they entered the match ready to battle after honoring seniors Jamie Pick, Hermann Doerner, Aaron Laranetto, Belal Mohamed, Jordan Wix Rauch and Robin Goetz. The squad put the offensive pressure on early, taking the first shot of the game in just the fourth minute of action. When Doerner sent the ball to forward running Nick Sarver, Sarver looked up and found the feet of junior Lukas Fernandes. Fernandes ripped a spiraling shot from just outside of the 18-yard box, but the Tulsa keeper was there to make the early play.
> In the 13th minute, Temple nearly got on the board again when Tyler Gainer charged up the field from his outside back position. He sent a lofting ball to the far post from the right flank, finding the head of Justin Hahn who headed it down, but missed frame wide right by mere inches.
> The ongoing pressure and developed opportunities by the Owls payed off in the 27th minute, when Temple got on the board for what was ultimately the game decider. Freshman Elias Hellgren Villegas made a solid tackle in the Tulsa goal box, winning the ball and sending it behind his leg and across the box to Fernandes. Fernandes collected himself and buried the game-winner past the Golden Hurricane keeper for his sixth goal of the season.
> The level of intensity from the Owls did not drop for the remainder of the match. Multiple key defensive plays by Sarver, Zach Brown, Gainer and Pierre Cayet combined with crucial plays from Simon Lefebvre kept the Golden Hurricane off the score board. Each player in Cherry and White made critical defensive plays all over the pitch, allowing the Owls to maintain possession for the majority of the match.

Game Notes
> The Owls logged their second straight blank sheet, after shutting out the Penn Quakers on Tuesday night and leaving the Golden Hurricane scoreless on Saturday evening. Lefebvre and the Temple defense have now shut out their opponents five times this season.
> The Cherry and White have officially clinched a spot in the post-season action, as their win tonight propels them into contention for the American Athletic Conference championship title. This will be the first playoff run for the squad under head coach Brian Rowland, and the bracket will be decided after each team plays their final regular season games next week. The five finalized teams that will join Temple and continue into post-season play are UCF, UConn, Memphis, USF, and SMU.
> Fernandes has been a bright light for the Owls in the attacking third all season. He now leads the team in points (16), goals (6) and assists (4), and notched his third game-winning goal of the season. Hellgren Villegas also moves up on the scoresheet, joining fellow freshman Jalen Campbell with seven points from two goals and three assists.

Quotable
> "Resilience has been a great word for this team all season," explained Rowland. "We've had an extremely tough schedule and have had our ups and downs, but we can always trust that these guys will never quit. One of our goals was to give ourselves the chance to keep playing into the tournament, so I'm really happy for this team and all of the growth they have shown over the course of the season."

Up Next
> The Owls will round out their regular season schedule next Friday, Nov. 2nd as they head to Dallas, Texas to face the SMU Mustangs. Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. EST, as Temple looks to secure their official seed in the conference playoff bracket.