Men's Soccer Extends Unbeaten Streak to Five with Scoreless Draw at Tulsa

Friday, November 1

Tulsa, Okla.

8:00 PM

Temple University

7-6-2, 3-1-2

Tulsa

4-8-2, 0-4-1

Temple

Tulsa

Men's Soccer Extends Unbeaten Streak to Five with Scoreless Draw at Tulsa

11.1.19 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

TULSA, Okla. – The Temple men's soccer team (7-6-2, 3-1-2 AAC) battled Tulsa (4-8-2, 0-5-1 AAC) for 110 minutes under the lights at Hurricane Stadium Friday night, but neither team could find the go-ahead goal to secure the victory. The scoreless draw marked Temple's fifth-straight game unbeaten and the shutout was the squad's fourth of the season as the Owls have held their opponents to just six goals in the last eight games.

How it Happened
> The Owls were strong off the initial whistle in Tulsa, maintaining possession in the Golden Hurricane's defensive third for nearly the entirety of the first 10 minutes. Continuing to apply pressure on the Tulsa backline, Temple produced its first threatening chance in the 12th minute of play when Sean Karani controlled the ball on the right flank. The freshman chipped a spot-on service to the far post where Lukas Fernandes was running on, but an offsides call on the senior captain halted the play.
> Scoring opportunities were limited on both sides for the majority of the first half as the squads battled through back-and-forth possession for 45 minutes. The Owls saw their final threatening opportunity of the game in the 37th minute when Karani dribbled through a slew of Tulsa defenders and drew a foul roughly 25 yards out. Leandros Lillis stepped up to take the kick, but the senior's low-driven shot was denied by the Golden Hurricane keeper.
> Temple reset in the locker room and came out firing to start the second half. In the 51st minute, Lillis got behind another free kick and chipped the ball into the danger zone for the Owls. Brandon Johnson charged onto the service and leaped up for a header, but the Tulsa defense held strong and shut down the opportunity.
> Just two minutes later, the Cherry and White got one of their best chances of the game when Esteban Suarez sent a one-time cross into the six yard box. An offensive threat all night for the Owls, Lillis positioned himself well and fired a header towards the left pocket but the Tulsa goalkeeper made a diving save to keep the score notched at zero.
> The Owls set themselves up to find the back of the net once again in the 72nd minute when Elias Hellgren Villegas rocketed the ball towards the far post, but the sophomore's shot ricocheted off the right post and stayed in play. Aly Camara was there to put the ball away, but the freshman's shot sailed over the crossbar to keep the game tied up.
> Temple was forced to play with 10 men on the field after a red card was given to Johnson in the 79th minute. After 90 minutes scoreless, the Owls and the Golden Hurricane battled through two 10 minute overtime periods but neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal. The Temple defense held strong through extra time despite being a man-down, earning their fourth shutout of the season and extending the team's unbeaten streak to five.

Game Notes
> Senior goalkeeper Simon Lefebvre came up big for the Owls with five saves to earn his fourth shutout in net this season.
> Suarez led the team with a pair of shots from his left-back position, one of which he put on target. The sophomore wing-back continues to be a powerful threat for the Temple offense on set pieces and in transition.
> Temple still sits fourth in the conference with 11 points. After game-play across the conference on Friday night, UCF secured the one-seed heading into the AAC tournament and earned hosting rights for the semi-finals and the championship match. Each team has one game left to play in the regular season, and No. 6 UCF, No. 12 SMU, Memphis (RV) and Temple have each punched a ticket to the conference tournament.

Up Next
> The Owls will play their final match of the regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 5 when they host No. 12 SMU for senior night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. under the lights at the Temple Sports Complex as the Cherry and White will battle for the chance to host a first-round playoff game the following Saturday.