Women's Soccer Falls in AAC Quarterfinals

Wednesday, October 31

Tampa, FL

4:30 PM

Temple University

7-11-1, 3-5-1

UCF

10-6-1, 6-3-0

Temple University

UCF

Women's Soccer Falls in AAC Quarterfinals

10.31.18 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

TAMPA— Temple women's soccer (7-11-1, 3-6-1 AAC) earned the No. 6 seed and played in their first conference postseason since 2015 this afternoon against No. 3 seed UCF (10-6-1, 7-3 AAC). The Owls stayed true to their game plan and battled the Knights, but they ultimately fell 3-0 at USF's Corbett Stadium, ending their playoff run.

Keys to the Match
> The Knights struck first in the 21st minute. They went into halftime leading 1-0 and scored twice more in the remaining 45 minutes. Kristen Scott was a force for UCF. She was involved in every scoring play for the Knights, recording a brace and one assist.
> The Owls came to compete and it was evident in their approach. The squad created quality opportunities to score while maintaining its disciplined and organized identity on the defensive front.

Match Notes
> Two goalkeepers saw time between the posts for Temple and both came up with huge plays. Junior Morgan Basileo was tested by UCF's Katrina Kuoksa in the 17th minute. Kuoksa shot a line drive toward the right post, but Basileo made a diving save. In the 24th minute, UCF rocketed a shot on frame and Basileo dove to the right to punch it out of play. Nash made a strong challenge when a UCF player charged at her full speed in the 67th minute. Nash came off her line with authority and extinguished the attempt.
> Temple had strong defensive efforts to combat the UCF offense. In two instances, a UCF player had a seemingly strong look on goal, but an Owl defender recovered position and thwarted the opportunity. In the 16th minute Marissa DiGenova cut in front of a Knight to clear the ball and in the 54th minute Kelcie Dolan sprinted over to block a dangerous UCF shot. Emily Keitel was well-positioned in the box when UCF sent in a back post cross. She won the ball and headed it out. First Team All-Conference selection Aisha Brown was key for the Temple defense as well. Brown blocked a threatening UCF chance at the top of the box with one minute left in the first half.
> The Owls created scoring opportunities, but were ultimately unable to capitalize on them. Jules Blank moved up the right flank and drew a crowd of UCF defenders in the 38th minute. She maneuvered with some fancy footwork to try to shake them and sent a shot toward goal. The ball did not have enough pace and was handled by the keeper. One of the best looks of the match for Temple came three minutes into the second half. Keitel served a beautiful corner into the box. Bella Sorrentino fired a shot, but it was blocked by a UCF defender. Julia Dolan got a piece of the deflection and launched a shot on frame, but the UCF keeper made the save. Keitel and Julia Dolan were in on the action again in the 80th minute. Keitel sent in a corner that found the head of Julia Dolan. She redirected it, but it veered wide left of the right post. Another threatening chance for Temple came with eight minutes left to play. DiGenova sent a bending ball into the box that just missed the boot of a streaking Emma Wilkins.
> This match marked the Owls fourth appearance in the AAC Tournament. The team's No. 6 seed tied its highest ranking.

Quotable
> "Our effort was absolutely fantastic," said head coach Seamus O'Connor. "We said we wanted to have no regrets, so we took chances. This is a learning tool. We didn't want to come just to participate. We wanted to compete and try to win, so we put the girls in a position to do that. It was a good experience for us. I thought the girls did a great job and executed the game plan."