Men's Soccer Falls 2-1 at SMU

Friday, November 2

Dallas, Texas

8:00 P.M.

Temple University

5-9-4, 2-4-1AAC

SMU

9-4-2, 4-1-1AAC

Temple

SMU

Men's Soccer Falls 2-1 at SMU

11.2.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

DALLAS – The Temple University men's soccer team (5-9-4, 2-4-1 AAC) fell to the SMU Mustangs (9-4-2, 5-1-1 AAC), 2-1, on a Friday night in Dallas to wrap up their regular season schedule. The Owls put on a strong showing against the Mustang squad that left with a share of the American Athletic Conference regular season title.

How it Happened
> SMU came out strong and dished out a threatening shot against the Owls in just the fourth minute of action. Akean Shackleford, a key to the Mustang offense the entire game, took the first shot of the match when he sent a driven ball on target from just outside of the Temple goal box. Simon Lefebvre was there to make the play, but the shot eventually ricocheted off of the left goal post to safety. This play hinted a bit of foreshadowing, as Shackleford went on to hit the Temple goal post twice more in the first half alone.
> The first opportunity for the Owls came just three minutes later in the seventh minute of play. Junior Lukas Fernandes drove towards the end line with speed, slotting the ball back to find the boot of senior Belal Mohamed. Mohamed pounced on the opportunity, but his one touch shot was sent just wide left of frame.
> After frequent back-and-forth play and multiple chances on both ends of the field, the Mustangs got on the board first in the 60th minute. While the Cherry and White defense held strong to thwart multiple driven shots by the Mustangs, SMU was able to collect the scramble in the goal box and slip one inside the left goal post to take the lead. Emil Cuello sent a driven shot towards net, and Phillip Ponder eventually knocked the deflection in.
> The Owls did not back down, continuing to put the offensive pressure on the Mustangs throughout the remainder of play. In the 70th minute, Leandros Lillis sent a lofted cross from the right flank into dangerous territory for the Mustangs. The left-footed service ended up at the SMU far post, where a Mustang defender headed it in when trying to clear the ball, equalizing the match for the Owls.
> As the end of regulation came near, the Mustangs were able to capitalize on one of their final chances of the game when they dropped a short corner kick back to Eddie Munjoma in the 81st minute. Munjoma sent a driven ball towards net, finding the head of Ponder who knocked it in for his second goal of the game. The goal was enough to hand the Mustangs the victory over Temple, allowing them to maintain their share in the conference title with UCF.

Game Notes
> Lefebvre was kept on his toes, facing 23 shots and eight on goal over 90 minutes of action. The junior goalkeeper made six saves throughout the match, blocking many threatening shots from the Mustang offense.
> It was a physical battle down in Dallas, with five yellow cards and 16 fouls drawn throughout play.
> After 18 regular season games, the Owls never lost a match by more than one goal.

Up Next
> Following the conclusion of their regular season schedule, the Owls are now set to head into American Athletic Conference post-season action. After earning the top overall seed, UCF will play host to the conference tournament this year, sending the top six AAC teams to Orlando, Fla. to battle for the championship title. As the No. 5 seed in the AAC, Temple is set to face No. 4 seed UConn, who was ranked 20th nationally in the latest polls. The squads will battle to stay alive and advance within the playoff bracket on Tuesday, November 6th at 7:00 p.m.