The women’s soccer team won its second game of the season in a 1-0 shutout against visiting Iona on Friday at the Ambler Sports Complex.
“Some days we come out and are very lackluster,” coach Matt Gwilliam said. “Today we were not and it showed.”
In the shutout win, the Owls were lead by strong defense, timely offense and an impressive shutout by freshman goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff, Gwilliam said.
“The defensive play was fantastic today,” Gwilliam said. “They have gotten us to where we are right now.”
Scoring the Owls goal in the match was senior forward Morgyn Seigfried, who netted her first of the season in the 18th minute. The goal was assisted by freshman defender Paula Jurewicz, the first point of her collegiate career.
“It felt good,” Seigfried said. “Our defense is what really won us the game today.”
Coming into the match, Gwilliam was faced with the dilemma of who to start in goal, the experienced redshirt senior Tara Murphy, or Kerkhoff. His eventual choice of Kerkhoff paid off for the Owls, Gwilliam said.
“All the hard work you put in and having it finally pay off feels great,” Kerkhoff said. “I was super nervous but I was ready to play.”
With only 11 minutes of play in her collegiate career, Kerkhoff came out and played well in her first start for the Owls, Gwilliam said.
“[Kerkhoff] had an amazing save at the end that plucked off the post,” Seigfried said. “She had a great first game.”
Gwilliam said he is still unsure who will be in goal for the Owls on Sunday against Princeton.
The win added to Temple’s streak of home shutout wins, as they now have five shutout wins in a row at home dating back to last season.
The Owls improve to 2-3-1, while Iona fell to 1-3-1 on the season.
John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu.
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