Women’s Soccer Falls to Cincinnati in American Opener

Thursday, September 26

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 p.m.

Temple University

2-5-3

Cincinnati

3-5-2

CINCINNATI

Temple

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Women’s Soccer Falls to Cincinnati in American Opener

9.26.19 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA— Temple women's soccer (2-5-3, 0-1 AAC) opened up American Athletic Conference play against Cincinnati (3-5-2, 1-0 AAC) on Thursday night, ultimately falling 2-0 to the Bearcats behind two second-half goals.

How it Happened
> Cincinnati earned two early corners in the eighth minute of play, but both attempts were stopped by the Owls' defense. On the first set piece, junior Bella Sorrentino headed the ball out of play to prevent a Bearcats scoring opportunity. Temple earned possession on the next corner, as the Owls held their position on the service and drew a Cincinnati foul.
> In the 25^th minute, junior Djavon Dupree made a key defensive play to keep Cincinnati off the score sheet. Alli Pestaina had a look on goal off a Bearcats corner kick, but Dupree was well-positioned to head the ball off the goal line to safety.
> The Owls had a strong offensive opportunity in the 29^th minute. Sophomore Gabriela Johnson took on her defender on the right side of the box and sent a shot on frame. Madison Less got a hand on it, but junior Natalie Druehl collected the deflection and fired toward goal. A Cincinnati defender blocked her attempt.
> In the 53^rd minute, junior Marissa DiGenova registered a formidable attempt on goal for the Owls. She collected a pass from Hannah Alexander and fired a shot toward the far post, but the effort went just wide.
> Four minutes later, senior Morgan Basileo made a great save. The keeper tipped a Cincinnati shot attempt over the cross bar to keep the match scoreless.
> In the 59^th minute, the Bearcats got on the board with a goal from Camryn Hartman. Two minutes later, Cincinnati took a 2-0 lead when Vanessa DiNardo connected with Sophie Gorman in the 61^st minute.
> Temple had a strong chance on a corner served by sophomore Hailey Gutowski in the 80^th minute. Gutowski sent a bending ball into the box in search of a teammate, but Less thwarted the attempt.

From the Coach
> "It's a tough result because we played well," said head coach Seamus O'Connor. "We had looks on the attacking end, but we just didn't execute. We were making great runs and putting the work in, but we weren't connecting in the final third."

Up Next
> Temple will continue conference play on Sunday, Sept. 29 as it hosts the ECU Pirates at the Temple Sports Complex. The match is set to kick off at 1 p.m.