Men's Soccer Stuns Memphis in Double OT to Advance to First-Ever AAC Semifinal

Saturday, November 9

Memphis, Tenn.

8:00 PM

Temple University

8-7-2, 3-2-2

Memphis

10-7-0, 4-3-0

Temple

Memphis

Men's Soccer Stuns Memphis in Double OT to Advance to First-Ever AAC Semifinal

11.10.19 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The road to the American Athletic Conference Championship title continues for the Temple men's soccer team (8-7-2, 3-2-2 AAC) as they defeated Memphis (10-7-0, 4-3-0 AAC) in a thrilling 2-1 double-overtime win to advance to the tournament's semifinal match. The Owls used an 89th-minute equalizer from Esteban Suarez and a 103rd-minute game-winner from Jalen Campbell to complete a full comeback and down the Tigers for the second time this season. The Cherry and White claimed their first-ever American Championship victory, advancing to the American Athletic Conference semifinals for the first time since the formation of the conference in 2013.

How it Happened
> The chilly AAC tournament battle at the Memphis Track and Soccer Complex started with a back-and-forth possession game as neither team saw a shot on goal until over 20 minutes into action. Senior captain Lukas Fernandes fired on target in the 21st minute to test Memphis' Parker Lackland for the first time, but the goalkeeper scooped it up with ease to keep the game scoreless.
> Memphis broke through the possession deadlock in the 24th minute when Sam Ashton found the back of the net for the 11th time this season off an assist from Chrisoforos Kouris.
> The Temple offense adapted to the speed of play and came out firing in the final five minutes of the first half. Sophomore Elias Hellgren Villegas put back-to-back threatening opportunities on frame in a two minute span, but Lackland came up big for the Tigers to send the squad into the locker room with the lead. At the half, the teams were notched at six shots with three on goal apiece.
> The Owls reset at the half and came out hot to start the second 45 minutes of play. After a pair of Fernandes shots were denied by Lackland, Sean Karani nearly broke through in the 55th minute. The freshman dribbled through traffic and sent a low-driven shot near frame, but the attempt slipped just wide right of goal.
> As the clocked ticked down, the Owls were giving everything they had in an attempt to find the equalizer and get back in the game. With just one minute and 28 seconds remaining in regulation, the Cherry and White offensive pressure paid off when Fernandes battled through a scramble and flicked the ball to the far post. Suarez was charging towards goal and was able to get on the end of Fernandes' cross, burying the ball in the back of the net to keep the Owls' season alive and send the AAC foes into overtime.
> Temple carried momentum through the first 10-minute overtime period, keeping the ball in the Tigers' defensive half for the majority of play and outshooting Memphis 3-1. Refusing to back down, the Owls took advantage and entered the second overtime period hungry for a goal.
> The Owls earned their seventh corner of the game with the 102:07 on the clock and Fernandes stepped up to take the in-swinging kick. Hellgren Villegas got on the end of his senior captain's distribution and dropped it back to Brandon Johnson, who kept it in the box and found freshman Sean Karani. Karani controlled the ball and slipped it across the goalmouth to the boot of Campbell, who tapped in the golden goal and made history for the Cherry and White.

Game Notes
> The Owls are now 1-1 in American Athletic Conference Championship play under the direction of head coach Brian Rowland. The semifinal match will be the first for Temple as the squad has dropped every first-round tournament game since joining the American until tonight.
> Temple completed its 2019 sweep against the Tigers with two thrilling overtime wins, both on Memphis' home field. The win was also a complete comeback as the Tigers got on the board first and the Owls were forced to find both an equalizer and a game-winner to secure the victory.
> The resilience of the Cherry and White continues to shine through game after game. Tonight's 89th-minute goal from Suarez was the team's second this season with fewer than two minutes to play in regulation. Temple has now gone unbeaten in six of its last seven contests, five of which it has won.
> Senior goalkeeper Simon Lefebvre was once again phenomenal between the posts for the Owls, making three critical saves in overtime alone to keep the team alive. Lefebvre finished the game with six saves and posted his 14th game conceding one or fewer goals.
> The Temple offense came alive in the second half, ultimately outshooting the Tigers 17-10 and 9-7 on goal.

From the Coach
> "I'm ecstatic for the guys, I mean what a performance on the road against a very good team," said Rowland. "To win here twice is a huge statement for us. I didn't think we played our best in the first half, I thought we were a little sluggish getting out of the gate but we challenged them at halftime and they responded. We played a fantastic second half, created a lot of chances and for us to keep fighting until the very end and find that goal—I felt like the momentum was with us in overtime and it was just whether we could get that chance and the guys competed for it on every single play. We battled and we found a way to get the result. I'm extremely proud to be this team's coach and I'm really excited for us to take this next step to the semifinal."

Up Next
> The Owls will make the trip to Orlando, Fla. for the second time this year to take on top-seeded UCF in the AAC semifinals. The semifinals will be held at the UCF Soccer & Track Complex on Wednesday, Nov. 13 as Temple looks to advance to its first-ever AAC Championship game with a victory over the sixth-ranked Knights. USF will meet No. 2 seed SMU at 4:30 p.m. ET and Temple will square off with top-seeded UCF immediately following at approximately 7 p.m. Both games will be available live on Facebook via the American Digital Network.