Women’s Soccer Edges Houston, 2-1

Sunday, October 17

Philadelphia, Pa.

12:00 PM

Temple University

5-5-3, 2-3-0

Houston

10-4-2, 2-2-1

Houston

Temple

Women’s Soccer Edges Houston, 2-1

10.17.21 | Women's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – Temple women's soccer (5-5-3, 2-3-0 AAC) picked up their second conference win of the season in a hard-fought battle over third-seeded Houston (10-4-2, 2-2-1 AAC) on Sunday afternoon. A pair of Hailey Gutowski goals paved the way for the Owls success, resulting in a 2-1 win.

How it Happened

The Cougars entered the match hoping to take the early lead, rattling off five shots in the first 20 minutes of play.
In the 24^th minute, the Cherry and White took advantage of their opportunity, capitalizing on just their second shot of the game. Sumaya Togba made a run down the right wing, beating her defender by just a step to send a cross into the box for a streaking Gutowski. As Houston goalkeeper Mikaela Gracia came out to make the play, Gutowski controlled the ball off the bounce, inching around Gracia for the tap-in.
The Owls held on to the lead for the remainder of the half, allowing six more shots, with only two on goal for the Kamryn Stablein saves.
Temple entered the second half firing on all cylinders, outshooting the Cougars three to one by the 53^rdminute.
In the 60^th minute, Gutowski, an offensive spark for the Owls, made a run down the left wing to send a shot towards the far post. The ball hit the woodwork before bouncing across the goal line for the 2-0 cushion.
The Houston offense ramped up the pressure in an attempt to close in on the lead, but the Temple backline anchored by Roisin McGovern and Erin Theiller stood strong, blocking a series of shots as time ticked down.
The Cougars were finally able to slip through the Owl defense in the 86^th minute as Madison Dichiara tapped the ball into the net off a scramble inside the box.
With only three minutes remaining in play, Houston took their last shot of the game, in what they hoped to be the equalizer but Stablein made the save to preserve the 2-1 lead and bring the game to a close.

Game Notes

Togba clocked her first full 90 minutes for the Owls, securing her first career assist. The freshman forward has now recorded three points on the season after netting the game-winner in the 2-1 victory over LIU on Tuesday.
Hailey Gutowksi advances to 13 points on the season on five goals and three assists, trailing team leader, Emily Kavanaugh by just two points.
Stablein recorded 10 saves, advancing to 71 saves on the season for a .780 save percentage.
With a win over third-seeded Houston, the Cherry and White jump to No. 6 in the American Athletic Conference standings.

From the Coach
"This game had to be 90 minutes strong," Nick Bochette said. "If you let your foot of the gas against a team of this caliber, they can come right back at you. I thought the end was very gritty, but we knew it would be that way. Overall, this is a really quality team we just beat."

Up Next
The Owls will travel to Dallas, Tx. on Wednesday, Oct. 20 to take on No. 20 SMU in conference play. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.