Temple University Athletics
“It was a team effort”: Temple Men’s Soccer Looks Back on Taking Down Reigning Champs Syracuse
10.13.23 | Men's Soccer
The Temple men's soccer team upset No. 10 Syracuse on Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over the reigning national champions. It was the program's first top ten victory since defeating No. 2 SMU in March of 2021.
Lleyton Imparato, a sophomore midfielder from Tampa, Florida, opened the scoring in the 36th minute off an assist from midfielder Tessho Kobayashi. The Syracuse Orange brought the game level at 1-1 in the 86th minute, but the Owls answered back quickly. Rocco Haeufgloeckner, a sophomore defender and midfielder from Kirchzell, Germany, scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute off an assist from fellow German midfielder Felix Ewald.
"It was unreal," said Imparato. "The whole team has been on cloud nine."
The win comes at a critical point in the season for the Owls, who now have a 2-5-3 record. Before last week, the team had not won a match in 2023.
No. 10 Syracuse, on the other hand, fall to 6-3-3. The Orange were ranked No. 3 last year and won the 2022 NCAA Division 1 National Championship 2-2 during a penalty shootout against No. 12 Indiana.
Head Coach Bryan Green knew that Syracuse would be a tough opponent, but remained focused on his team during preparations.
"We have been pretty consistent in the last three weeks focusing on a couple of different areas," he stated. "We've been working on the simple things–marking in the box, restarts, clearances, and turnovers."
The focus on improvement paid off in the 36th minute. Junior forward Daniel Moya picked up a loose ball from Syracuse and sent it to Kobayashi, who then found Imparato making a run from the halfway line to the 18-yard box.
"The goalie had come out of his box, so I tapped it right by him," said Imparato. "We all ran to the corner flag and celebrated. It was a good team finish."
The Owls were up 1-0 at halftime, but conceded in the 87th minute when Syracuse's Gabriel Mikina capitalized on a corner kick.
76 seconds later, Haeufgloeckner picked up the ball and threaded a pass to Ewald, who was making a run towards goal. Ewald then passed it back to Haeufgloeckner, who put the ball in the back of the net.
"It was amazing, it was an incredible feeling," said Haeufgloeckner. It was the first goal of his collegiate career.
Imparato, Haeufgloeckner and Green are in agreement on how the Owls won: through team effort. Imparato credited the defense for shutting down a Syracuse attack that brought heavy pressure–including 15 shots and 14 corner kicks.
Coach Green applauded the combined effort from the team, noting that 18 players made an appearance during the match.
"We used seven subs, and you can certainly single out highlight moments from every player who stepped on the field," he said. "Syracuse only used three subs. So that proved to be the difference."
He also pointed out that the game was won in the dying minutes of the match, so the Owls' fresh legs were an important factor in the win.
In addition to team collaboration, Green and Haeufgloeckner also highlighted the Owls' efficiency. Temple only had five shots, but they converted two of them–a 40% conversion rate. For comparison, Syracuse converted at a mere 7% rate, scoring only one goal from 15 shots.
The Owls were ecstatic to take down the No. 10 Orange. Imparato said the team believed in themselves and knew they could beat anyone, but the victory still felt surreal.
Describing the post-match mood on the team, Imparato stated, "Adrenaline was high. There was music, there was dancing, and we were all hugging each other." He also called beating the 2022 NCAA Division I Champions "a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Haeufgloeckner called Tuesday's game "one of the biggest wins for our team ever." He remarked, "I could feel it meant a lot to our players, to our team, and even Temple as a whole."
While the team celebrates their historic win against Syracuse, they are also turning their focus to their next opponent. The Owls are hoping to ride the momentum of their two-game win streak into an important American Athletic Conference matchup this weekend against South Florida.
"South Florida is a conference game, so it's a must-win game," remarked Imparato. "We're expecting to come out with the same mentality, grit and heart as we did on Tuesday."
Haeufgloeckner pointed out that, despite the historic win, Tuesday's game was not worth any points since Syracuse is not a conference team.
"The mentality is the same as always," he said. "We focus on the details, and we focus on the next game."
The Owls play South Florida at 4:00 pm on Saturday, October 14th at Temple Sports Complex.
Lleyton Imparato, a sophomore midfielder from Tampa, Florida, opened the scoring in the 36th minute off an assist from midfielder Tessho Kobayashi. The Syracuse Orange brought the game level at 1-1 in the 86th minute, but the Owls answered back quickly. Rocco Haeufgloeckner, a sophomore defender and midfielder from Kirchzell, Germany, scored the game-winning goal in the 89th minute off an assist from fellow German midfielder Felix Ewald.
"It was unreal," said Imparato. "The whole team has been on cloud nine."
The win comes at a critical point in the season for the Owls, who now have a 2-5-3 record. Before last week, the team had not won a match in 2023.
No. 10 Syracuse, on the other hand, fall to 6-3-3. The Orange were ranked No. 3 last year and won the 2022 NCAA Division 1 National Championship 2-2 during a penalty shootout against No. 12 Indiana.
Head Coach Bryan Green knew that Syracuse would be a tough opponent, but remained focused on his team during preparations.
"We have been pretty consistent in the last three weeks focusing on a couple of different areas," he stated. "We've been working on the simple things–marking in the box, restarts, clearances, and turnovers."
The focus on improvement paid off in the 36th minute. Junior forward Daniel Moya picked up a loose ball from Syracuse and sent it to Kobayashi, who then found Imparato making a run from the halfway line to the 18-yard box.
"The goalie had come out of his box, so I tapped it right by him," said Imparato. "We all ran to the corner flag and celebrated. It was a good team finish."
The Owls were up 1-0 at halftime, but conceded in the 87th minute when Syracuse's Gabriel Mikina capitalized on a corner kick.
76 seconds later, Haeufgloeckner picked up the ball and threaded a pass to Ewald, who was making a run towards goal. Ewald then passed it back to Haeufgloeckner, who put the ball in the back of the net.
"It was amazing, it was an incredible feeling," said Haeufgloeckner. It was the first goal of his collegiate career.
Imparato, Haeufgloeckner and Green are in agreement on how the Owls won: through team effort. Imparato credited the defense for shutting down a Syracuse attack that brought heavy pressure–including 15 shots and 14 corner kicks.
Coach Green applauded the combined effort from the team, noting that 18 players made an appearance during the match.
"We used seven subs, and you can certainly single out highlight moments from every player who stepped on the field," he said. "Syracuse only used three subs. So that proved to be the difference."
He also pointed out that the game was won in the dying minutes of the match, so the Owls' fresh legs were an important factor in the win.
In addition to team collaboration, Green and Haeufgloeckner also highlighted the Owls' efficiency. Temple only had five shots, but they converted two of them–a 40% conversion rate. For comparison, Syracuse converted at a mere 7% rate, scoring only one goal from 15 shots.
The Owls were ecstatic to take down the No. 10 Orange. Imparato said the team believed in themselves and knew they could beat anyone, but the victory still felt surreal.
Describing the post-match mood on the team, Imparato stated, "Adrenaline was high. There was music, there was dancing, and we were all hugging each other." He also called beating the 2022 NCAA Division I Champions "a once in a lifetime opportunity."
Haeufgloeckner called Tuesday's game "one of the biggest wins for our team ever." He remarked, "I could feel it meant a lot to our players, to our team, and even Temple as a whole."
While the team celebrates their historic win against Syracuse, they are also turning their focus to their next opponent. The Owls are hoping to ride the momentum of their two-game win streak into an important American Athletic Conference matchup this weekend against South Florida.
"South Florida is a conference game, so it's a must-win game," remarked Imparato. "We're expecting to come out with the same mentality, grit and heart as we did on Tuesday."
Haeufgloeckner pointed out that, despite the historic win, Tuesday's game was not worth any points since Syracuse is not a conference team.
"The mentality is the same as always," he said. "We focus on the details, and we focus on the next game."
The Owls play South Florida at 4:00 pm on Saturday, October 14th at Temple Sports Complex.
Players Mentioned
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