Women's Soccer Opens Season Friday

Friday, August 17

Temple Sports Complex

6:00 P.M.

Temple University

Saint Joseph's

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Women's Soccer Opens Season Friday

8.16.18 | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Live

PHILADELPHIA- The Temple women's soccer team kicks off the 2018 season tomorrow, taking on the Saint Joseph's Hawks to open up the season. The match will be played at the Temple Sports Complex at 6 p.m.

The Team
> Temple is led by head coach Seamus O'Connor (38-53-5), who is entering his sixth year at the helm of the program.
> The Owls finished the 2017 season with a 6-10-2 record overall, going 2-6-1 in the American Athletic Conference., narrowly missing a bid to the conference tournament.
> The team boasted a 5-4 record at home at the Temple Sports Complex in the 2017 campaign.
> The Owls lost impactful seniors (Gabriella McKeown, Elana Falcone, Kayla Cunningham), but return several key players and welcome a strong freshman class.
> Highlights of the 2017 campaign included a three-game streak of holding the opponent scoreless in the middle of the season, a four-game win streak at home and two freshmen (Julia Dolan, Emma Wilkins) earning conference weekly honor roll honors for the first time in program history.

Key Returners & Newcomers
> The Owls return several players who will be integral to the team's success. Temple's offense will benefit from the return of their second-leading scorer from 2017, senior forward Kerri McGinley, and junior forward Jules Blank.
> The back line is anchored by junior Emily Keitel, who led the 2017 team in assists, and senior captain Kelcie Dolan. Junior goalkeeper Morgan Basileo is coming off a 69-save, 4-shutout season and was named to the American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll three times. Veterans Jordan Nash and Cassy Skelton round out the goalkeeping core.
> Temple has four freshmen on the roster (Kylie Anicic, Erin Cutcliff, Hailey Gutowski, Gabriela Johnson). O'Connor is pleased with how they have added to the culture and environment of the team.

Focus for Season
> Temple is looking to capitalize on its momentum from the spring season and preseason. O'Connor said the Owls are trying to build off what they did in the spring. "We started to play a lot better in terms of keeping the ball and scoring more goals," he said. The Owls want to build on that style and increase goals scored.
> The Owls hope to improve upon their 2017 home record (5-4) as well as their play on the road. This will help them accomplish their ultimate goal: Competing in the American Conference tournament.

Strengths
> The Owls enjoy great depth as a team this year. "We are definitely a lot deeper than we have been in the past. We have a lot more players who are comfortable playing possession," O'Connor said.
> O'Connor also pointed out that the underclassmen are stepping up to the plate. "The freshman coming in and the sophomores, their maturity from last year to this year, they are just a lot more productive on the field. Now it doesn't all have to be on the juniors and seniors. We have production coming from all four classes," he said.

Scouting the Hawks
> Saint Joseph's is led by head coach Jess Mannella, who is entering her 18^th season.
> The Hawks were picked to finished sixth in the Atlantic 10 Conference Preseason Poll.
> Saint Joseph's returns defender Paige Bergman and forward Dakota Mills, who were named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Team.
> Saint Joseph's finished the 2017 season with an 11-6-3 overall record, 5-3-2 in the Atlantic 10

Series History
> Temple and Saint Joseph's have faced each other 19 times. The Owls are down in the series 4-12-3.
> The Owls fell 2-0 in the last matchup at Saint Joseph's in 2017 in a hard-fought game against the crosstown rival.

Follow
> Live stats from the match will be available at: http://www.sidearmstats.com/temple/wsoc/
> OwlsTV's Zach Simon will have the call and live video can be found at: https://owlsports.com/watch/?Archive=8303&type=Archive