Men’s Soccer Puts on Strong Showing in 1-0 Loss to No. 12 SMU

Sunday, October 3

Dallas, Texas

8:00 PM

Temple University

1-5-2, 0-4-0

#12 SMU

6-1-2, 3-1-0

Temple

SMU

Photo by: Miles Marteal

Men’s Soccer Puts on Strong Showing in 1-0 Loss to No. 12 SMU

10.3.21 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

DALLAS – The Temple men's soccer team (1-5-2, 0-4 AAC) came up just short against the No. 12 ranked SMU Mustangs (6-1-2, 3-1-0 AAC) 1-0 Sunday night. Temple hung with the Mustangs for the entire match, having several chances to take a lead and later tie the game.

How it Happened
> Goalkeeper Liam Cummings successfully turned away the first shot of the match, blocking a header from SMU star Gabriel Costa.
> Cummings made another impressive save in the 20^th minute with a diving stop to keep the match scoreless.
> Cummings made one final save in the final minute of the first half to send the teams to the locker room scoreless.
> In the 60^th minute freshman Alex O'Leary had the chance of the match. O'Leary received the ball at the top of the box off a corner kick. The defender fired the ball towards the goal where it sailed just over the crossbar.
> Temple created another fantastic opportunity in the 65^th minute. Luka Kozomara found Amir Cohen directly in front of the goal following a throw-in. Cohen sped to meet the ball but mishit a clean chance to keep the score at nil.
> Shortly after Cummings made yet another impressive stop on an SMU fastbreak. The Mustangs created a quality chance from the top left corner of the box. Cummings punched the ball out and the Owls quickly cleared
> SMU broke through in the 67^th minute to a 1-0 lead.
> Tyquan Stroud fired a laser from the top of the box late that was batted down by the Mustang keeper to preserve the lead.
> Neither side had much action for the remainder of the match as SMU pulled into a defensive crouch. The Mustangs claimed a final score of 1-0.

Game Notes
> Cummings had his best performance since taking starting role in the first match against SMU two weeks ago. The keeper only allowed one goal on six shots on target.
> Alex O'Leary made his first collegiate start and played a full 90. Daniel Moya also saw his first action since the Rutgers match.
> Five yellow cards were issued in this match. All on Temple.

From the Coach
> "Defensively we were sound. We had a plan in place and we executed it well. We limited them to very few quality chances. Ultimately I liked the effort we put out tonight." -- head coach Brian Rowland.

Up Next
> The Owls return home to the Temple Sports Complex Wednesday for a matchup against Princeton. The 7 p.m. match will be streamed on ESPN+. Attendance is free to all fans.