Men’s Soccer Knocks Off No. 23 Tulsa 4-1 On Senior Night

Friday, April 2

Philadelphia, PA

7:00 PM

Temple University

3-4-1, 3-4-1

#23 Tulsa

5-2-1, 5-2-1

Tulsa

Temple

Photo by: Richie Raspa

Men’s Soccer Knocks Off No. 23 Tulsa 4-1 On Senior Night

4.2.21 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA – The Temple men's soccer team (3-4-1, 3-4-1 AAC) defeated No. 23 Tulsa (5-2-1, 5-2-1 AAC) 4-1 Friday night for their second-ranked victory of the season. The victory ends the Owls' five-game home slate with two consecutive victories over ranked opponents.

How it Happened
> Temple came out firing, only four minutes into the game senior defender Esteban Suarez fired the first shot of the match. It was saved by Tulsa keeper Lucas Cline.
> In the 13^th minute Sean Karani scored one of the most impressive goals of the season for Temple. Freshman Nigel Giffith found the forward 30 yards from the goal. Karani dribbled towards the Tulsa goal, splitting two defenders to get open at the top of the box. Karani rocketed the ball towards the far back corner for his first goal of the season.
> Ten minutes later, in the 22^nd minute, the Owls extended their lead to 2-0. Junior Jalen Campbell rolled the ball towards the top of the box where he found senior Mickael Borger. Borger then volleyed a perfect ball from the top right corner of the box to find a streaking Nigel Griffith wide open for an easy tap-in.
> Temple keeper Eoin Gawronski made a routine save on a routine ball from Luke Jeffas to earn his first save of the match in the 28^th minute.
> The Owls had a couple off-target chances from Karani and midfielder Fabian Grant as the first half wound down. Temple took a 2-0 lead into the half.
> Temple scored their third goal of the match on the first shot of the second half. Griffith used his speed to force the Tulsa backline to collapse on him as he approached the right side of the goal. The Stroudsburg native was able to find a trailing Campbell all alone in front of the net. The junior planted his foot and drove the ball home to give Temple its first three-goal lead of the season.
> Gawronski made a fleury of saves over the next ten minutes, including back-to-back saves off strong attempts from the Golden Hurricanes.
> In the 73^rd minute Temple added their fourth score of the game. Griffith bobbed and weaved through the Tulsa defense and forced the keeper out of the cage. The freshman fired a gorgeous pass to Karani wide-open in front of the net for his second goal of the match.
> Tulsa found the back of the net in the 79^th minute. Due to a slide tackle in the box, the Golden Hurricane were able to cash in on a penalty kick goal.
> The penalty kick would be the final shot attempt of the match as Temple secured the 4-1 victory over the No. 23 ranked Golden Hurricane.

Game Notes
> The four goals scored are the most Temple has scored in a single match since 2017. The four goals are also the most Tulsa has allowed this season.
> Griffith scored a goal and earned two assists. These are his first collegiate points.
> Sean Karani finally broke through with a two-goal performance. This matches his career-high from last season.
> Two yellow cards were issued in this match, both on Temple.

From the Coach
> "I've told our guys and I'll tell anyone, if we're at our best or close to being fully healthy and ready to go, I'll take our group against anybody. I think we have a really talented team, we had some games where we were limping in and trying to figure it out. The games were we have it together and are healthy have been against ranked opponents, and it shows the quality of our team." -- head coach Brian Rowland.

Up Next
> The Owls end their season with a two-game road trip. They will visit to Memphis on Tuesday, Apr. 6. Streaming information for the match will be announced at a later date.