Men's Soccer Falls to St. John's in Overtime Battle

Saturday, September 8

Temple Sports Complex

7:00 P.M.

Temple University

2-3

St. John's

3-2

OT 2

St. John's

Temple

Men's Soccer Falls to St. John's in Overtime Battle

9.8.18 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – A goal in the 99th minute was the decider tonight, as the Temple men's soccer squad (2-3) fell to St. John's (3-2), 1-0. Despite many created opportunities and dominant possession, the Owls were unable to find the back of the net at the Temple Sports Complex.

How It Happened
> The first chance for the Owls came in the 17th minute when freshman Elias Hellgren Villegas sent a long ball across the pitch to junior Lukas Fernandes. Fernandes dropped the ball back to the feet of senior Hermann Doerner, who ripped a shot just high of the crossbar.
> Another opportunity came in the 25th minute, when freshman Andres Charles-Barrera sent a threatening corner kick rocketing into the box, finding the head of sophomore Pierre Cayet who buried it into the net. Unfortunately for the Owls, the goal was called back due to a foul committed against the St. John's keeper.
> Temple dominated possession throughout the match, but was unable to capitalize on created opportunities. The Owls out-shot the Red Storm 13-11, with Simon Lefebvre tallying five saves to their three.
> Corner kicks played a significant role in today's match, with Temple taking nine and St. John's 10. Each corner provided a solid opportunity for the respective teams, ultimately leading to the game winning goal. In the 99th minute of play, Red Storm leading scorer Matt Forster sent a corner kick blazing into the 18 yard box, finding the head of Skage Simonsen to finalize the match.

Game Notes
> Strong defensive efforts have been evident each match this season as the Owls have yet to lose a game by more than one goal.
> Temple has not had an organic goal scored against them, as all three opponent goals this season have come from set pieces.
> Tonight's match was the second overtime competition in a row for the Owls, after defeating Rider in the 94th minute this past Wednesday. Temple still has not seen a second overtime period, with both matches being finalized within 100 minutes of play.

From the Coach
"It is a disappointing result considering how we played, particularly in the first half," said head coach Brian Rowland. "We created many scoring opportunities, but did not always take the chances we should have, and from that we will learn and get better. That is still the key right now, to constantly be growing and improving."

Up Next
The Owls are back on the road this Wednesday, September 12th as they travel to Princeton, N.J. to take on the Tigers. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m., and the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.