Men's Soccer Wins Season Opener 3-2 Over USF

Saturday, February 6

Tampa, FL

7:00

Temple University

1-0-0, 1-0-0

USF

0-1-0, 0-1-0

Temple

South Fla.

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Men's Soccer Wins Season Opener 3-2 Over USF

2.6.21 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: H. Jordan Viener

TAMPA – The Temple men's soccer team (1-0-0, 1-0-0 AAC) took down USF (0-1-0, 0-1-0 AAC) to secure a victory in the season opener. The Owls paced an exciting, back and forth affair with three goals to earn their first season-opening victory since 2016.

How it Happened
>It was apparent early that the AAC foes would be in for a high scoring affair. Just 39 seconds into the match junior midfielder Jalen Campbell fired the first the game. It was on target for the top right corner but was saved. USF struck back with a shot of their own at the 4:36 mark that was saved by goalkeeper Nikolas Hartmann.
> The Bulls struck first and struck quickly. USF forward Victor Claudel drew first blood only 4:49 into the match to hand the Owls their first deficit of the young season.
> Temple was able to capitalize on a USF miscue at the 30-minute mark to even up the score at 1-1. Brady O'Connor intercepted an errant pass just outside the USF penalty box and fed it along to an open Campbell who fired into the back right corner of the net for Temple's first goal of the season.
> After surviving a pair of shots and a corner from the Bulls, Temple was able to capitalize off an incredible assist from senior Esteban Suarez. Possessing the ball near midfield, the Mexico native launched a pass that was able to connect with the right foot of a streaking Amir Cohen for the second Temple goal of the night.
> USF came out hot in the second half. In only the 49th minute, Oscar Resano was able to find midfielder Josue Monge at the top of the penalty box. Resano then cut towards the middle of the field and fired a shot that sliced away from Harmann and into the back of the net, tying the game at two apiece.
> After alternating attacks, the Owls would break the tie in the 70th minute. Possessing the ball near midfield, Mike Eijgendaal found Mickael Borger deep in the USF zone. Borger, running along the right side of the field, zipped towards the front of the net where Campbell was waiting to tap it home for his second tally of the night.
> Temple dominated the late game. The Cherry and White had three shots opposed to USF's one in the last twenty minutes and controlled possession despite a late push by the Bulls. Temple started the season off right with a 3-2 victory.

Game Notes
> Campbell doubled his goal total from the entirety of last season with his pair of scores.
> Five Owls earned at least one point. All five players were of international origin. Temple is second in the American Athletic Conference in terms of international players on the roster (13).
> Temple and USF combined for five goals. This is the most points scored in a Temple season opener since the 2000 season opener when the Owls defeated Drexel in a match that was also won 3-2.

From the Coach
> "We committed to everyone being ready," said head coach Brian Rowland. "I think we showed a ton of heart, and a ton of character. To come back twice, we scored two goals in a row. The weather created a difficult environment, while playing a team that was pushing late to find a way to tie the game. All those things are the things you can't replicate in training. So to pass that test and get through it is a credit to the team"

Up Next
> The Owls will host their first home game of the 2020-21 season at the Temple Sports Complex on Saturday, Feb. 13 against UCF. The conference match-up is set for 7 p.m., and will be streamed on ESPN+.