Temple University Athletics
Tuesday, November 5
Philadelphia, Pa.
7:00 PM
Temple University
vs
No. 11 SMU
Men's Soccer Hosts No. 12 SMU Tuesday for Senior Night
11.4.19 | Men's Soccer
PHILADELPHIA – The Temple men's soccer team (7-6-2, 3-1-2 AAC) is primed and ready to battle in a highly anticipated regular season finale against No. 12 SMU (13-1-1, 4-1-1 AAC) on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at the Temple Sports Complex. AAC tournament seeding is on the line as the Owls look to extend their unbeaten streak to six and the Mustangs are on the hunt for their fourth-straight win in a 7 p.m. Senior Night showdown in North Philadelphia.
Senior Spotlight
> Temple will honor its seven outstanding seniors prior to kick-off on Tuesday. Senior Night recognition will begin at 6:45 p.m., as the University will shine light on the Temple men's soccer class of 2020 for all they have contributed over their years in Cherry and White.
> The seven members of the senior class include Nick Sarver, Leandros Lillis, Lukas Fernandes, Matt Trepanier, Corey Burkhardt, Simon Lefebvre and Ezer Browne.
Last Time Out
> The Owls have continued to build off their October momentum as they played their fifth-straight game unbeaten in a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Tulsa on Friday night. The squad battled the Golden Hurricane for 110 minutes, but neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal to secure the victory. The scoreless draw marked Temple's fourth shutout of the season and the Owls have held their opponents to just six goals in the last eight games.
> Temple was 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 Fernandes was running on, but an offsides call on the senior captain halted the play.
> After 45 minutes of play that saw limited scoring chances for either team, 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.
> Temple was forced to play with 10 men on the field due to a red card in the 79th minute. After 90 scoreless minutes, the Owls and the Golden Hurricane battled through two overtime periods but neither team was able to find the golden goal. The Cherry and White defense held strong through extra time despite being a man-down, earning its fourth shutout of the season—the second most in the conference.
Scouting the Owls
> Temple is coached by Brian Rowland in his second year at the helm of the program. So far this season, Rowland has led the Owls to a 7-6-2 overall record through an extremely challenging nonconference slate that featured three top-15 teams and notable top-25 RPI road wins over Memphis and Louisville. The Owls punched their ticket to the AAC Championship field with a 2-1 win over UConn in their third conference victory of the season, but seeding for the tournament is still undecided with the exception of UCF securing top seed.
> Fernandes spearheads the Temple offense with nine points from three goals and three assists so far this season. The senior captain has led an impressive Temple offense that struggled to put the pieces together in the beginning of the season but has netted nine goals in its last five games. Karani has also greatly contributed to Temple's offensive spark, trailing Fernandes with eight points from three goals and two assists.
> The Temple defense has been impressive on both ends of the ball all season as all four members of the squad's starting back line have scored at least once this year. Borger has contributed the third-most points on the team with five from two goals and an assist, junior Pierre Cayet and sophomore Esteban Suarez each have four points and Johnson has two to aid in the Owls' success all over the field.
> Lefebvre has been phenomenal between the posts all season for the Owls, leading the American with a goals against average of 0.90 after allowing just 14 goals in 15 games this season. The senior goalkeeper currently sits third in the AAC with 40 saves and second with four shutouts to help back the brick-wall Cherry and White defensive unit.
RPI Watch
> The Owls remain in the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI top-50, coming in at No. 45 this week with their five-game unbeaten streak. They have risen as high as No. 34 in RPI so far this season, a ranking that came about after downing both No. 13 Louisville and No. 23 Memphis.
> Temple has faced three top-10 squads this season in No. 1 Georgetown, No. 3 UCF and No. 4 St. John's. The Cherry and White are not finished with their top-10 opponents yet, as SMU came in at No. 10 in this week's rankings.
Scouting the Mustangs
> SMU is led by Kevin Hudson in his fifth year heading the program. Hudson has coached the Mustangs into a perennially nationally relevant squad, as the team rose as high as No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this season and has not dropped from the top-25 since they first entered the rankings in week two. Currently, the Mustangs sit 12th in the national polls and 10th in RPI while boasting one of the nation's top offenses. SMU held an 11-game unbeaten streak until dropping their lone match of the season in overtime against Memphis, 3-4. Since the loss on Oct. 18, the Mustangs have won three-straight.
> The nationally-ranked Mustangs are coming off of a 1-0 win over conference foe UConn. The squad used a goal in the seventh minute and a blank sheet by Grant Makela to seal the Senior Night victory and move to 13-1-1 on the season. A win in Tuesday's game will guarantee the Mustangs the two-seed in the conference championship field, and a win paired with a UCF loss would give them a share of the regular season AAC title for the third-straight year.
> Five different Mustangs have notched double-digit points on the season to back the powerful offense that's produced 53 goals and allowed just 11 goals in 15 games played. Garrett McLaughlin leads the squad with 33 points from 14 goals, five assists and five game-winning goals for SMU. The senior currently leads the American in shots, shots per game, points, points per game, goals and goals per game and had an AAC record 11 points in SMU's 7-1 win over Cincinnati. Four other players have generated double-digit points for the squad in Eddie Munjoma (26), Gabriel Costa (23), Knut Ahlander (23) and Nick Hernandez (10).
> Two Mustangs have split time between the posts this season, but Grant Makela has played 802 minutes through nine games for SMU. He's allowed just nine goals for a goals against average of 1.01 and has saved 36 shots to earn a conference-leading five shutouts and accumulate an overall record of 7-1-1. Shane Lanson has also seen time in net for SMU, playing 570 minutes through eight games and allowing just two goals.
The Series
> The Owls have accumulated a 1-5-1 record against the Mustangs since the squads first met at the formation of the American in 2013. Most recently, Temple dropped a 2-1 decision at SMU in a hard fought regular season finale in 2018.
Senior Spotlight
> Temple will honor its seven outstanding seniors prior to kick-off on Tuesday. Senior Night recognition will begin at 6:45 p.m., as the University will shine light on the Temple men's soccer class of 2020 for all they have contributed over their years in Cherry and White.
> The seven members of the senior class include Nick Sarver, Leandros Lillis, Lukas Fernandes, Matt Trepanier, Corey Burkhardt, Simon Lefebvre and Ezer Browne.
Last Time Out
> The Owls have continued to build off their October momentum as they played their fifth-straight game unbeaten in a 0-0 double-overtime draw at Tulsa on Friday night. The squad battled the Golden Hurricane for 110 minutes, but neither team was able to find the go-ahead goal to secure the victory. The scoreless draw marked Temple's fourth shutout of the season and the Owls have held their opponents to just six goals in the last eight games.
> Temple was 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 Fernandes was running on, but an offsides call on the senior captain halted the play.
> After 45 minutes of play that saw limited scoring chances for either team, 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.
> Temple was forced to play with 10 men on the field due to a red card in the 79th minute. After 90 scoreless minutes, the Owls and the Golden Hurricane battled through two overtime periods but neither team was able to find the golden goal. The Cherry and White defense held strong through extra time despite being a man-down, earning its fourth shutout of the season—the second most in the conference.
Scouting the Owls
> Temple is coached by Brian Rowland in his second year at the helm of the program. So far this season, Rowland has led the Owls to a 7-6-2 overall record through an extremely challenging nonconference slate that featured three top-15 teams and notable top-25 RPI road wins over Memphis and Louisville. The Owls punched their ticket to the AAC Championship field with a 2-1 win over UConn in their third conference victory of the season, but seeding for the tournament is still undecided with the exception of UCF securing top seed.
> Fernandes spearheads the Temple offense with nine points from three goals and three assists so far this season. The senior captain has led an impressive Temple offense that struggled to put the pieces together in the beginning of the season but has netted nine goals in its last five games. Karani has also greatly contributed to Temple's offensive spark, trailing Fernandes with eight points from three goals and two assists.
> The Temple defense has been impressive on both ends of the ball all season as all four members of the squad's starting back line have scored at least once this year. Borger has contributed the third-most points on the team with five from two goals and an assist, junior Pierre Cayet and sophomore Esteban Suarez each have four points and Johnson has two to aid in the Owls' success all over the field.
> Lefebvre has been phenomenal between the posts all season for the Owls, leading the American with a goals against average of 0.90 after allowing just 14 goals in 15 games this season. The senior goalkeeper currently sits third in the AAC with 40 saves and second with four shutouts to help back the brick-wall Cherry and White defensive unit.
RPI Watch
> The Owls remain in the NCAA Men's Soccer RPI top-50, coming in at No. 45 this week with their five-game unbeaten streak. They have risen as high as No. 34 in RPI so far this season, a ranking that came about after downing both No. 13 Louisville and No. 23 Memphis.
> Temple has faced three top-10 squads this season in No. 1 Georgetown, No. 3 UCF and No. 4 St. John's. The Cherry and White are not finished with their top-10 opponents yet, as SMU came in at No. 10 in this week's rankings.
Scouting the Mustangs
> SMU is led by Kevin Hudson in his fifth year heading the program. Hudson has coached the Mustangs into a perennially nationally relevant squad, as the team rose as high as No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll this season and has not dropped from the top-25 since they first entered the rankings in week two. Currently, the Mustangs sit 12th in the national polls and 10th in RPI while boasting one of the nation's top offenses. SMU held an 11-game unbeaten streak until dropping their lone match of the season in overtime against Memphis, 3-4. Since the loss on Oct. 18, the Mustangs have won three-straight.
> The nationally-ranked Mustangs are coming off of a 1-0 win over conference foe UConn. The squad used a goal in the seventh minute and a blank sheet by Grant Makela to seal the Senior Night victory and move to 13-1-1 on the season. A win in Tuesday's game will guarantee the Mustangs the two-seed in the conference championship field, and a win paired with a UCF loss would give them a share of the regular season AAC title for the third-straight year.
> Five different Mustangs have notched double-digit points on the season to back the powerful offense that's produced 53 goals and allowed just 11 goals in 15 games played. Garrett McLaughlin leads the squad with 33 points from 14 goals, five assists and five game-winning goals for SMU. The senior currently leads the American in shots, shots per game, points, points per game, goals and goals per game and had an AAC record 11 points in SMU's 7-1 win over Cincinnati. Four other players have generated double-digit points for the squad in Eddie Munjoma (26), Gabriel Costa (23), Knut Ahlander (23) and Nick Hernandez (10).
> Two Mustangs have split time between the posts this season, but Grant Makela has played 802 minutes through nine games for SMU. He's allowed just nine goals for a goals against average of 1.01 and has saved 36 shots to earn a conference-leading five shutouts and accumulate an overall record of 7-1-1. Shane Lanson has also seen time in net for SMU, playing 570 minutes through eight games and allowing just two goals.
The Series
> The Owls have accumulated a 1-5-1 record against the Mustangs since the squads first met at the formation of the American in 2013. Most recently, Temple dropped a 2-1 decision at SMU in a hard fought regular season finale in 2018.
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