Temple Battles No. 7 Liberty, No. 14 Yale in Final Home Weekend

PHILADELPHIA – Following a pair of hard-fought losses against Old Dominion and Penn last week, the Temple University field hockey team hosts a pair of nationally ranked foes—No. 7 Liberty and No. 14 Yale—in its final home weekend of the regular season.

Temple will battle the Flames on Friday at 3 p.m. with conference tournament qualifying implications on the line, then host the Bulldogs for Senior Day on Sunday at noon.

Game 16 | No. 7 Liberty (12-2, 5-0 BE)
Friday, Oct. 24 — 3 p.m.
Location: Temple Sports Complex – Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPN+ | Live Stats | International Stream

Game 17 | No. 14 Yale (11-2, 3-2 Ivy)
Sunday, Oct. 26 — Noon
Location: Temple Sports Complex – Philadelphia, Pa.
TV: ESPN+ | Live Stats | International Stream

Social Media
Twitter/X: @TempleFH | Instagram: @templefieldhockey

Scouting Temple

Temple battled two tough opponents last week, falling to both Old Dominion and Penn by 3-2 scores. The matchup against ODU reached double overtime before the Monarchs netted the game-winner with 3:45 remaining before a shootout. Against Penn, the Owls cut the deficit to one in the fourth quarter but couldn't find the equalizer.

Senior Peyton Rieger was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after posting a goal and an assist against Penn. Rieger has now earned four conference honors this season—twice as BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week and twice on the Weekly Honor Roll. She has eight goals and seven assists (23 points), the most by an Owl since 2015. Rieger ranks second in the BIG EAST in points, tied for second in goals, and tied for fourth in assists.

With matchups against Liberty, Yale, and Providence remaining, Temple holds the fourth-strongest remaining strength of schedule nationally.

The Owls are tied with Quinnipiac and Villanova for fourth place in the BIG EAST standings and the final spot in the upcoming BIG EAST Championship in Lynchburg. The final two conference games for each team will determine the fourth qualifier. Temple is seeking wins over Liberty and Providence, along with a Villanova loss to either Liberty or Providence and a Quinnipiac loss to UConn or Georgetown.

Senior Day
Temple will honor five seniors for their contributions on the pitch, in the classroom, and in the community on Sunday: Halle Aschenbach, Isabella Ospitale, Lina Neilson, Peyton Rieger, and Agustina Tucceri. This senior class has led the Owls to a 46-27 record over four seasons—the first since 1994 to record at least 10 wins in all four years. Off the field, they've excelled academically, earning BIG EAST All-Academic honors, NFHCA recognition, and College Sports Communicators awards while helping Temple maintain a perfect NCAA Academic Progress Rate.

BIG EAST Standings (as of Oct. 23)

School	Conf.	Pct.	Overall	Pct.
Liberty	5-0	1.000	12-2	.857
Old Dominion	4-1	.800	7-7	.500
UConn	4-1	.800	7-7	.500
Temple	2-3	.400	10-5	.667
Quinnipiac	2-3	.400	9-6	.600
Villanova	2-3	.400	4-11	.267
Providence	1-4	.200	8-6	.571
Georgetown	0-5	.000	3-11	.214

Scouting Liberty

The Flames enter Friday's matchup at 12-2 overall and 5-0 in BIG EAST play. Liberty defeated Saint Joseph's (2-1) and Providence (2-0) last week in Lynchburg. Its only losses have come to No. 2 North Carolina (3-1) and No. 3 Virginia (1-0).

The matchup showcases two of the top offenses in the BIG EAST. Liberty is led by Lou Combrinck (6 goals, 10 assists, 22 points) and Dara Semmartin (5 goals, 10 assists, 20 points), who rank third and tied for fourth in conference scoring, respectively.

Defensively, Liberty ranks sixth nationally in goals-against average (0.86). Goalkeeper Diane Saint Martin leads the BIG EAST with a 0.79 GAA and ranks fifth with a .732 save percentage. The French native has allowed just 11 goals in 14 games and has not conceded in five conference contests this season.

All-Time Series vs. Liberty
Liberty holds a 13-2 advantage in the all-time series, but Temple defeated then-No. 18 Liberty last season, 5-1, in Lynchburg. In that game, Peyton Rieger and Tess Muller each scored twice as Temple tallied three goals in the fourth quarter to pull away. The Owls' previous win over the Flames came in 2011 (3-0 at Geasey Field).

Scouting Yale

The Bulldogs ride a five-game winning streak into the weekend and will face Penn on Friday before visiting Philadelphia. Yale's only losses came in Ivy League play—2-0 at Cornell and 2-1 vs. No. 8 Princeton on Oct. 3.

Poppy Beales leads the Ivy League with 11 goals in 13 games, while Hettie Whittington and Victoria Collee rank ninth and 10th with seven goals apiece.

Yale has allowed just 14 goals in 13 games. Goalkeeper Amelie Schwarzkopf has limited opponents to two goals or fewer in every contest and one goal or fewer in nine of 14. During the Bulldogs' five-game winning streak, the Germany native has allowed just three total goals, including a double-overtime shutout of UConn.

All-Time Series vs. Yale
Sunday marks the fifth meeting between the programs, with the all-time series tied 2-2. Yale has won the last two matchups, including a 3-0 victory last season in New Haven.