Women’s Soccer Defeats Houston 3-2 in Overtime Thriller

Sunday, September 23

Houston, Texas

2:00 P.M.

Temple University

5-6 (1-1)

Houston

5-6-1 (1-1)

OT 1

TEMPLE

Houston

Women’s Soccer Defeats Houston 3-2 in Overtime Thriller

9.23.18 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

HOUSTON - Temple women's soccer (5-6, 1-1 AAC) earned its first conference victory of the season, defeating Houston (5-6-1, 1-1 AAC) 3-2 in a hard-fought overtime contest. The Owls edged out the Cougars behind a full-team effort, with a goal by junior Morgan Morocco and a brace, including the golden goal, by freshman Gabriela Johnson.

Keys to the Match
> Houston got on the board early, scoring off a free kick in the fourth minute. Morgan Basileo blocked the initial shot attempt from the set piece, but the Cougars' Desiree Bowen headed the deflection into the back of the net.
> Johnson netted the equalizer for the Owls in the 35th minute. Johnson received a pass from Marissa DiGenova, cut through several Houston defenders and fired from the 18 to score her first career goal for the Cherry and White.
> Temple's second goal came off a corner kick. Emily Keitel sent a soaring ball into the box that found the head of Morocco. Morocco redirected the ball on goal in the 56th minute for her second of the season.
> Houston tied the match off a 71st minute goal from Bowen, assisted by Mia Brascia.
> Johnson's golden goal in the 95th minute was nothing short of spectacular. She employed high-level footwork to shake her defender, spun on a dime and rocketed a beauty into the left upper 90 to give the decision to the Owls and score her second goal of the match.

Match Notes
> In the seventh minute, Basileo made a key save to keep the Cougars from netting a second early goal. Basileo came off her line to contest an attacking Houston forward and stop her momentum.
> Kerri McGinley had several great opportunities to get on the scoresheet. She recorded six shots, with five coming in the first half. Her best look came in the ninth minute in an effort to capitalize off a Houston defensive error. An attempt to clear hit the back of a Cougar defender and McGinley applied pressure, but her shot landed wide right of the goal.
> Following the Houston equalizer, Temple had many quality chances to score the game-winning goal in regulation. In the 74th minute, McGinley broke through the Houston back line and raced up the right flank. She crossed the ball to a cutting Juliet Esposito, whose shot was just high. In the 88th and 89th minutes, the Owls had two more looks to put the game away. Johnson set up the opportunities by beating her defender down the sideline and crossed the ball to her streaking teammates. Emma Wilkins had the first attempt; her shot was blocked. Julia Dolan came in for a header off the deflection, but it went just high.
> In the 90th minute, with six seconds left in regulation, Basileo came up with another huge save to prevent a game-winning goal and send the competition into overtime.
> The Owls outshot the Cougars 23-14 and held the advantage in corners, 6-3
> Temple tallied three goals for the third time this season. The other instances were on August 26 in a 3-0 victory at Delaware State and on Sept. 16 in a 3-0 win over Wagner.
> The Owls handed the Cougars their first home defeat of the season. Prior to today's match, Houston was 4-0 at home.
> With this victory, Temple still commands the series against Houston, leading 5-1.

Quotable
> "Morgan Morocco did a great job of setting the tone early by getting at players and getting behind their backs, built up our confidence," said head coach Seamus O'Connor. "Kerri did a great job setting the tone. The defenders did a really good job. Houston tried to back up the midfield, but our backs are really good at serving the ball over distance. All our players just had much more aggressive play."
> O'Connor talked about the team's shift in mentality following the loss at SMU in the conference opener. "They just showed up," said O'Connor. "They were tremendous. The bench was screaming from the first minute on, really encouraging the team. It was every single player. Every player had a win-at-all-costs attitude. They were fully committed to winning and it was evident in the way we performed."

Next Up
Temple returns to the Temple Sports Complex after completing its six-game road stretch to take on UCF. The Owls will face the Knights on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 3:30 p.m.