Men's Soccer Set to Host Lafayette in Friday Night Showdown

Friday, September 13

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:30 PM

Temple University

Lafayette

Men's Soccer Set to Host Lafayette in Friday Night Showdown

9.10.19 | Men's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Game Notes

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple men's soccer squad will return to their home turf of Friday, Sept. 13 to host Lafayette under the lights at the Temple Sports Complex. Kick-off for the nonconference showdown is set for 7:30 p.m.

Scouting the Owls
> Despite its record on paper to start the season, Temple has already proved themselves as a force to be reckoned with over the first three games. All three of the Owls' losses came from teams that were recognized in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll, with Georgetown coming in at No. 5 and Rutgers and Villanova each receiving votes. The path for the Cherry and White continues to be paved with challenging opponents, as four more teams on Temple's schedule also showed up in the polls this week in No. 16 UCF, No. 20 Louisville, No. 22 SMU and UConn (RV).
> In his second year at the helm of the program, head coach Brian Rowland has worked to transition the culture of the program and bring in fresh talent from all over the country. This season, the squad returned a talented 15-person core and added 17 new players to the roster to help bring the team to new heights.
> Multiple newcomers have established themselves as key players for the Owls early in the season as the squad clicks more and more each time they step on the field. Mickael Borger, Esteban Suarez, Amir Cohen and Sean Karani have each started all three of their first games in Cherry and White, while Corey Burkhardt, Brandon Johnson, Aly Camara and Paul Frendach have each tabbed at least one start this season.
> Many familiar faces have had an impact to start the 2019 season in Cherry and White, as Simon Lefebvre has notched all 270 minutes between the posts for Temple so far this season. A steady force in front of his goalkeeper, captain Pierre Cayet anchors the back-line as a consistent brick-wall defender. Lukas Fernandes, Elias Hellgren Villegas, Jalen Campbell and Andres Charles have also seen significant minutes early to help shape the Temple offense.

Scouting the Leopards
> Lafayette is coached by Dennis Bohn in his 19th season at the helm of the program. Bohn has led the team to an undefeated start to the 2019 season, currently sitting at 3-0-1 in nonconference play.
> The Leopards are coming off of a dominating 5-2 win over Monmouth on Tuesday evening. The victory was powered by four second half-goals to come back from a 1-2 deficit and lead the squad to victory.
> Sebastian Varela leads the Leopard offense after notching a team-high three goals off the bench so far this season. The sophomore also leads the team in points (6), shots on goal (6) and shots (7) after four games played.
> Sophomore Alex Sutton defends Lafayette between the posts, starting and playing all 380 minutes for the squad in net. He's conceded just two goals in four games for a 0.47 goals against average and has tabbed 16 saves for a save percentage of 0.889. Three of the team's four games have been shutouts.

Last Time Out
> The Owls are coming off another extremely tight contest, as they fell to Villanova 1-0 on Saturday, Sept. 7 in Villanova, Pa. Despite dominating possession against their undefeated Philly Soccer Six opponent, the Cherry and White conceded a goal early in the second half that ultimately decided the game.
> Temple came out strong in the first half to display its diverse talent early. In the sixth minute action, Karani displayed his speed to beat two Villanova defenders and drop the ball back to Cohen. Cohen fired off the first shot of the game for the Cherry and White, sending a long-range ball soaring over the crossbar.
> Campbell produced one of Temple's best opportunities of the game in the 36th minute when he collected a great through ball from Frendach. Campbell turned and fired off a fantastic shot on frame, but Villanova's Carson Williams was there to make the save.
> After a back-and-forth scoreless first half, the Owls came out strong to start the second 45 minutes. Frendach continued to contribute from the center of the field in the 53rd minute, when he battled through the Wildcat defenders to send the ball wide to Campbell. Campbell dropped the ball back to the redshirt sophomore, who fired off a dangerous shot that flew just high of the crossbar.
> Despite generating countless threatening opportunities, Villanova got on the board in the 68th minute. The game-winner came off the boot of Seidu Shamsudeen, who helped the Wildcats extend their win-streak to three with three-straight shutouts.

The Series
> The Owls dominantly hold the advantage over the Leopards, leading the series 30-9-3. The squads last met in 2011 when Temple opened the season at home and captured a 1-0 victory to start the season undefeated.