Men's Soccer Dominates NJIT in 3-1 Victory

Wednesday, October 3

Hillside, N.J.

3:30 P.M.

Temple University

4-5-2

NJIT

5-6-0

Temple

NJIT

Photo by: Carli Showmaker

Men's Soccer Dominates NJIT in 3-1 Victory

10.3.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

HILLSIDE, N.J. – The Temple men's soccer squad (4-3-2) controlled possession and capitalized on scoring opportunities to propel themselves to a 3-1 win over the NJIT Highlanders (5-6) on Wednesday afternoon. Four points from junior Lukas Fernandes powered a Cherry and White offense that recorded a season-high three goals on the day.

How it Happened
> The first opportunity for the Owls came in the seventh minute of play, when Fernandes sent a beautiful ball from the left flank towards the center of the box to find the feet of wide open Elias Hellgren Villegas, who was caught just offsides.
> Temple found the back of the net for the first time on the day in the 24th minute of action, when Fernandes lofted a corner kick to the top of the six to find the head of sophomore Pierre Cayet, who buried it to the bottom left corner for his first goal of the season.
> Just eight minutes later, the Cherry and White tallied their second goal of the match, developed by high offensive pressure by the Owls in the Highlander's defensive third. Sophomore Justin Hahn collected the ball in the box and slotted it back to find a wide open Fernandes, who turned and ripped a beautiful shot to the upper right 90 for his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Hahn's assist is his second of the season.
> Fernandes found himself involved in a scoring play once again in the 70th minute of action, when he distributed the ball to a wide open Belal Mohamed, who executed the shot for his first goal of the season.
> NJIT scored their lone goal of the match in the 75th minute of action on a converted penalty kick from Andrew Nino.

Game Notes
> The Highlanders shot 11 times throughout the match, but only put two on frame to test junior keeper Simon Lefebvre. The Owls shot 12 times, hitting seven on target.
> Fernandes' four point game is good for a season high across the Temple offense. He now has 10 points on the year, coming from four goals and two assists.
> After entering the match with one assist apiece, Cayet and Mohomed each earned their first goal of the season, both bringing impressive defensive abilities to the field as well.
> For the 10th time this season, a powerhouse Temple defense kept their opponents to only one goal during the game, only conceding two goals during one match thus far this year.

Quotable
> "I thought it was a very good performance on a difficult away field, and I was happy that we were able to show our quality," said head coach Brian Rowland. "We played our game, fed the ball well and created great opportunities. It was nice to get a couple more goals than we have in previous games, to give ourselves a little bit of a reward for good work and a bit more breathing room in the game. I think the guys came out ready to go, and put on a solid all-around performance."

Up Next
> The squad returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 6th as they host Memphis for their third American Athletic Conference match-up of the season. Kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m. at the Temple Sports Complex, and admission is free for all who attend.