Women’s Soccer Returns Home to Host No. 21 SMU Thursday

PHILADELPHIA – Temple women's soccer (0-3-4, 0-1-0 AAC) returns home after a six-game road stretch to host No. 21 SMU (5-1-3, 0-1-0 AAC) in their second conference competition of the year. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPN+.

The Owls

The Owls closed out a six-match road stretch on Sept. 15 as they opened conference play at Tulsa. The Owls fought hard, but it wouldn't be enough to combat the Golden Hurricane early advantage that came in the 15th minute of play.
Prior to the match against Tulsa, the Cherry and White recorded two consecutive 0-0 draws against Drexel and Rider. Kyla Burns was a standout in goal for the Owls recording 15 saves between the two matches. After her eight-save performance against Drexel, Burns was named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week for her efforts, her second conference accolade of the season after earning Weekly Honor Roll for posting a clean sheet against Penn on Aug. 26.
Emily Kavanaugh notched the lone goal of 2022, after netting a header in the 63rd minute of the Maryland matchup off a goalie deflection.

Scouting No. 21 SMU

The Mustangs enter the matchup with a 5-1-3 record, most recently blanking Baylor, 1-0 at home. Prior to Baylor, SMU posted their first loss of the season on Sept. 15 after falling to East Carolina in the conference opener, 2-1.
Julissa Cisneros has headlined the Mustangs scoring efforts this year, netting six goals for a team-high 12 points while Courtney Sebazco trails with seven points on two goals and three assists.
Sammy Nieves has also proved to be a kick starter for the Mustang offense, dishing out three helpers to tie Sebazco as the team assist leader.
Red shirt senior Samantha Estrada has been the primary keeper for SMU this year, grabbing 28 saves for a .903 save percentage, the highest save percentage in the American Athletic Conference.
Last year, the Mustangs posted a 12-5-2 record, including a 4-2-2 conference showing. The Mustangs made a run in the AAC Tournament before falling to No. 23 USF, 2-0. Despite not earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, SMU received an at-large bid, first facing off against No. 21 Texas, where they prevailed 2-0 before dropping to No. 1 Florida State, 5-1 .

History
The matchup between the Owls and the Mustangs marks the twelfth time the teams have met in program history with a contest record of 1-10-0. The teams' last meeting came in 2021, where the Owls dropped to the No. 16 Mustangs, 2-0 on the road.