Men's Soccer Falls 2-1 in Double OT Senior Night Heartbreaker to No. 11 SMU

Tuesday, November 5

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 PM

Temple University

7-7-2

No. 11 SMU

14-1-1

SMU

Temple

Men's Soccer Falls 2-1 in Double OT Senior Night Heartbreaker to No. 11 SMU

11.5.19 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple men's soccer team (7-7-2, 3-2-2 AAC) dropped a Senior Night heartbreaker on Tuesday night at the Temple Sports Complex, falling 2-1 to No. 11 SMU (14-1-1, 5-1-1 AAC) with 4:31 left in double overtime in the regular season finale. The Owls battled SMU and its second-ranked offense relentlessly, but a 105:29 game-winner from the conference's leading scorer handed the Mustangs their 14th win of the season.

How it Happened
> A common theme for this Temple squad, the Owls got off to a quick start off the whistle to draw a foul just 13 seconds into the game. Senior Leandros Lillis stepped up to chip the free kick into the box from nearly 30 yards out, but the service was shut down by the SMU backline. Just two minutes later, senior captain Lukas Fernandes fired off the first shot of the night with a rocket towards goal, but the ball sailed just high of the crossbar to deny the Owls the early lead.
> Temple built off this momentum and did not let down for the entirety of play. In the 24th minute, Sean Karani threaded fellow freshman Lior Nesher inside the goal box, where Nesher drove a shot just left of frame in another threatening chance by the Owls. Just three minutes later, Lillis sent another free kick into the box, this time aiming at a charging Mickael Borger who clipped the end of a shot but was denied by the SMU keeper.
> Throughout the first half, the Temple backline of Pierre Cayet, Esteban Suarez, Borger, Nick Sarver and glimpses of Santiago Majewski were relentless to shut down the Mustang offense that sits second in the nation with 3.53 goals per game. Cayet stopped a goal-line shot and stuffed the American's leading goal scorer Garrett McLaughlin on numerous occasions to keep the sheet clean on the board. Entering into the locker room, the Owls had a 3-1 nudge in shots on goal after a combined 17 shots were fired off.
> The second half was even more action-packed than the first as Temple matched up evenly against 11th-ranked SMU. In the 60th minute, it had looked as if the Owls took the lead when Karani sent a through ball to sophomore Elias Hellgren Villegas at the near post. Hellgren Villegas tapped it one-time towards goal, but the shot ricocheted off the post to deny the close chance for the Owls.
> After 68 scoreless minutes between two physical teams, the Mustangs struck first when Knut Ahlander found the back of the net to increase his point-total on the season to 25.
> Temple equalized just 65 seconds later when the Owls controlled possession and worked the ball into the Mustang defensive third. Fernandes sent a ball from the left flank into dangerous territory where Hellgren Villegas was waiting. The sophomore tapped the ball back to Cayet, who put a left-footed shot into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
> The Cherry and White created numerous threatening opportunities over the next 20 minutes but were unable to find the go-ahead goal. In the first overtime period, Majewski was nearly the hero for the squad when his header appeared to go in, but the SMU keeper extended his hands over the goal-line to keep the ball in play. Less than a minute later, the Mustang goalie shut down a perfectly-placed Andres Charles corner kick to keep the game rolling.
> Despite the hard-fought battle, SMU found the golden goal in the 106th minute to secure the two-seed in the conference tournament and conclude the regular season with just one loss on the year. The Mustang goal came from none other than McLaughlin, who found the back of the net for the 15th time this season.

Game Notes
> The game was a fast-paced, back-and-fourth possession battle that saw 39 total shots. The Owls nudged the Mustangs 8-7 in shots on goal and 8-5 in corners, but were unable to find the golden-goal to secure the victory over their nationally ranked opponent.
> Lefebvre was once again stellar in net for Temple, notching five huge saves and involving himself in countless plays to keep the score even throughout.
> It was a chippy match that saw 29 fouls and seven yellow cards between the conference foes.

Up Next
> With USF capturing a 3-1 win over Memphis earlier tonight, the Owls secured the five-seed in the American Athletic Conference Championship field. Temple will travel to Memphis, Tenn. to face the Tigers this Saturday, Nov. 9 in the quarterfinals of the postseason tournament. Kickoff for the first round match is set for 8 pm ET.