New Records in a Year of Firsts for 2020-21 Men's Soccer

PHILADELPHIA -- In his third season at the helm of the program, head coach Brian Rowland and the 2020-21 Temple men's soccer team continued to ascend the ladder in the American Athletic Conference.

Temple saw many moments of excellence in the truncated 2020-21 season including the highest ranked win in program history, their highest AAC finish since joining the conference along with several individual firsts.

With the double round-robin conference slate, Temple experienced its shortest season since 1960, with the squad playing just 11 matches including postseason action.

Temple opened the season with a trip to South Florida for their first match in 14 months. Jalen Campbell had one of the best games of his career, with a brace that included the game winner. Amir Cohen scored his first goal of the year off a perfect strike from the midfield by Esteban Suarez. Newcomers also played a key role in the victory, with transfers Mike Eijgendaal and Brady O'Connor contributing assists.

The Owls had a challenge next, hosting No.14 and eventual Sweet Sixteen participant UCF. It was the rare college soccer match that featured snow falling during play. Despite the Owls controlling possession for the vast majority of the match, the Knights claimed a 1-0 victory. The interesting weather did not stop with UCF.

The next match against Memphis was scheduled to take place at the Tigers on Saturday February 20. However, blizzard conditions in the Midwest forced the match away from Memphis and to the Temple Sports Complex. Those same blizzard conditions also forced the match to be pushed back three days to Tuesday, February 23.

The Owls eventually faced the Tigers ending in a heartbreaking 2-1 loss in double overtime. Memphis scored in the eighth minute taking the lead, but Temple evened the score in the 70th minute when Sean Karani fired a volley across the face of the goal to Mike Eijgendaal who headed it in for his first NCAA goal. The game was tied at one apiece until just 1:07 remained in the second overtime, when the Tigers scored the game-winning goal. Despite letting in two goals, NIkolas Hartmann continued a brilliant season in net with six saves to add to his AAC leading seven.

The Owls remained at the Temple Sports Complex for their next matchup against USF. Temple lost a tight 2-1 match to the USF Bulls. The Owls got out to an early 1-0 lead with a goal from sophomore Amir Cohen in the 21st minute, assisted by Mike Eijgendaal and Sean Karani. USF scored two late first-half goals to gain the lead and Temple could not get the equalizer in the second half. This match saw Freshman Eoin Gawronski earn the chance to play in goal. Gawronski impressed and did not see the bench again for the rest of the season.

One of the most notable games of the season came in the first match of March when Temple upset SMU, the second-ranked team in the nation, 2-0 to claim the highest-ranked win in program history. The Owls got on the board early with a goal in the 11th minute by Eijendaal, assisted by Karani and Santiago Majewski, marking the first goal against SMU in the season. While SMU largely controlled the first half after Temple's goal, a red card on SMU warranted a PK taken by Pierre Cayet, who drove the ball home lifting the Owls to 2-0 in the 63rd minute. Gawronski impressed in his first collegiate start with a clean sheet and six saves.

Temple then travelled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to take on the Golden Hurricane. Despite playing without three starters for most of the match the Temple defense, led by stellar play from Cayet, salvaged a scoreless tie at the Tulsa Golden Hurricane for its first draw of the season. Despite Tulsa shooting the ball 22 times, the Temple defense allowed only six on target, saved by Eion Gawronski. At this point in the season, Gawronski had not yet allowed a single goal two and a half games into his Temple career.

Next up, the squad headed down to Orlando, Fla. to face the UCF Knights. The injury woes continued for the Owls who suffered a 4-0 loss, marking their first road loss of the season. Temple made eight shots with five shots on goal.

With a postponement of their next match against Memphis to April 6, the Owls next faced No. 23 Tulsa at the Temple Sports Complex. Temple knocked off No. 23 Tulsa 4-1 on Senior Night in their final home match of the season. The four goals scored mark the most Temple has scored in a single match since 2017 and the most Tulsa allowed this season. Freshman Nigel Griffith had an impressive game earning his first collegiate points with the first goal of the game and three assists. Karani also finally broke through with a two-goal performance, matching his career-high from last season. Karani scored the first and last goal of the game while Campbell scored the third. Gawronski made four saves, only allowing a PK by Tulsa in the 78th minute.

The Owls kept the ball rolling with a win against Memphis, 3-2 in overtime, marking their first overtime win of the season and placing them in the top four of the American Athletic Conference standings. Temple took the lead in just the third minute with a goal by Eijgendaal, assisted by Campbell. Memphis came back in the second half with a goal in the 60th minute, but Temple took back the lead with a goal by Griffith just two minutes later. Memphis pulled the match back to 2-2 as time expired and the match went into overtime. Cohen scored on a counter attack goal in the 97th minute securing the victory for the Owls.

In the final match of the regular season, Temple defeated SMU for the second time this season, securing the third seed in the AAC Tournament. The Owls saw a 2-1 victory over the Mustangs with sophomore forward Eijgendaal scoring off a rebounded shot from midfielder Cohen, just over two minutes into the first overtime period. There were no goals scored until the 84th minute of the game, when Cohen netted a PK. SMU evened the score shortly after, taking the game into overtime where Eijgendaal scored the golden goal of the game.

In the American Athletic Conference semifinals third seed Temple tied the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 1-1, after a competitive 90 minutes of regulation. The game remained tied through two overtime periods leading to a penalty kick decision. Temple missed its first three kicks, while Tulsa made two of three. Grant nailed the fourth, but Tulsa's Alex Meinhard sunk the Golden Hurricane's fourth to end it at 3-1, advancing Tulsa to the final.

Temple saw five players earn places on the All-AAC teams, smashing the previous record of three. Cayet along with forward Karani earned first-team All-AAC honors, while midfielder Campbell, forward Eijgendaal, and goalkeeper Gawronski earned second-team All-AAC honors. Senior captain Cayet highlighted the post-season awards after being named the American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Cayet is the first-ever Temple player to earn the honor and the first Owl to win Defensive Player of the Year in any conference since 2004. Gawronski and forward Griffith were both unanimous All-Rookie selections.

Temple University Athletics

New Records in a Year of Firsts for 2020-21 Men's Soccer

Players Mentioned

Jalen Campbell

Pierre Cayet

Amir Cohen

Mike Eijgendaal

Eoin Gawronski

Nigel Griffith

Sean Karani

Santiago Majewski

Brady O'Connor

Esteban Suarez

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