Men’s Soccer Secures Three Seed in AAC Tournament with Overtime Win 2-1 Over SMU

Saturday, April 10

Dallas, TX

8:00 PM

Temple University

5-4-1, 5-4-1

SMU

5-5-0, 5-5-0

Temple

SMU

Photo by: Zamani Feelings

Men’s Soccer Secures Three Seed in AAC Tournament with Overtime Win 2-1 Over SMU

4.11.21 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

DALLAS- The Temple men's soccer team (5-4-1, 5-4-1 AAC) completed a sweep of the SMU Mustangs (5-5, 5-5 AAC) 2-1 in overtime. Sophomore forward Mike Eijgendaal scored the golden goal off a rebounded shot from midfielder Amir Cohen just over two minutes into the first overtime period.

How it Happened
> Goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski got his first save of the match after less than five minutes of play to kick off what would be a spectacular performance.
> Freshman Nigel Griffith had a strong chance in the tenth minute that was blocked by an SMU defender.
> Gawronski was tested often in the first half. Midway through the period, the freshman faced three shots in under three minutes. He successfully turned all three away, including a diving stop off the foot of SMU leading scorer Papa Ndoye.
> The keeper made two more saves as the first frame came to a close. Gawronski ended the first half with a new career-best six saves in a single half of play.
> Griffith fired two shots on target a minute apart in the 59th, including an excellent header that forced a diving stop by SMU goalkeeper Cole Johnson.
> The Mustangs threatened but could not breakthrough. SMU hit the left post twice in the 64th and 66th minute.
> As the half wound down Temple began applying pressure, the Owls had two corner kick attempts, and forward Alex Marin launched a shot on target from deep in the 76th minute.
>In the 85th minute sophomore Sean Karani outran the entire SMU backline and found himself alone with Johnson. The SMU keeper made a slide tackle in the box, giving Temple a penalty kick chance. Midfielder Cohen drilled the ball home and gave Temple the 1-0 advantage.
>Just over two minutes later SMU evened the score on a goal from Skage Simonsen.
>The Mustangs took one final shot as time expired, giving Gawronski his eighth and final save of the night.
>Only two minutes into the overtime period, the Owls found the golden goal. Paul Frendach launched a corner kick that found the foot of Cohen. Cohen fired the ball on net where it was saved by Johnson. Eijgendaal quickly located the rebound and found the back of the net to give Temple the win.

Game Notes
> This win gives Temple its first back-to-back wins in matches that have gone to overtime in program history.
> Last season, No. 11 SMU defeated Temple 2-1 in overtime on their senior night. This game is the same result with the roles reversed.
> Eijgendaal and Cohen's goal gives them both a team-leading four on the year.
> Gawronski's eight saves are a new career-high.
>There were five yellow cards and one red card issued in this match. Three yellow cards were given to SMU, two yellows, and a red were issued to Temple.

From the Coach
> "We challenged the group at halftime. We looked at what they were doing and even though we didn't play our best in the first half we found a way to create chances and find opportunities that could've been goals. We woke up in the second half and we played a little bit more like what we're capable of and generated really good chances in the second half." -- head coach Brian Rowland.

Up Next
> Temple advances into the AAC tournament riding a three-game winning streak. The Owls will face off against two-seed Tulsa in the first round of the tournament Thursday at 4 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.