Shutout provides promise

Back-to-back shutouts highlight close of women’s soccer season.

With consecutive wins against Atlantic Ten Conference foes, sophomore midfielder Niki Conn and the women’s soccer team ended their erratic season on a high note.

The Owls (7-11-1, 3-8 A-10) started off the season hot, winning four of their first six contests and matching their win total from last year. That success would not last, however, as the Cherry and White proceeded to lose seven straight games, starting with their 3-1 loss to Binghamton Sept. 18. That streak, while devastating in the standings, did not affect the team’s demeanor as much as one might imagine, coach David Jones said.

“We were so close in a lot of those games,” Jones said. “I think it was a matter of we had a feeling that it was going to happen. At some point, we were going to be able to come back and win some games.

“We knew we were there each week,” Jones added. “That’s why the players kept coming back every Tuesday for practice.”

The Owls snapped the streak Oct. 11, when they matched up against cross-state rival Duquesne. Trailing 2-0 in the middle of the second half, Temple capped off an improbable comeback with a goal from Conn with five minutes remaining in regulation.

The win would merely stall Temple’s losing ways, as the team went on to lose three consecutive games afterward. However, the Cherry and White would regain some of their early season success as the season neared its end.

Facing Saint Louis on Oct. 25, the Owls relied heavily on a strong performance from their defense, as they held the Billikens to just four shots all game long and gave freshman goalkeeper Gillian Kacsuta her second shutout of the year.

“Gillian really stepped up,” Jones said. “I think everybody fed off of her and really stepped up to the challenge. To her credit, she had a great end to the season, and hopefully, she can use some confidence from that heading forward.”

Entering Saturday’s game against Saint Joseph’s, the Owls were determined to end their season, and team captain senior midfielder Carly Metzger’s career, with a win.

Kacsuta had another strong performance in net, blocking five shots en route to yet another shutout. Temple’s lone goal came off the foot of sophomore midfielder Tiia Kuokka for a 1-0 win.

Conn, who finished the season with a team-leading eight goals, faced double teams for the majority of the year, which opened up the field for other players on the team like freshman midfielder Kate Yurkovic.

“We probably had Katie out of position the first half of the season,” Jones said. “I think from the first day of preseason to [Saturday], she probably made the most improvement out of anybody on the team.
“In the beginning of the year, Katie was probably playing 45 or 50 minutes a game,” Jones added. “Now, she plays 90 minutes every game.”

All in all, the Owls improved on their win total from last year by three, including an extra win in the A-10. Metzger is the only graduating senior, and key players like Conn, Kacsuta and Yurkovic still have multiple years of eligibility left. Still, it would’ve been nice to have a more consistent season, Jones said.

“I think we proved toward the end of the season that we’re capable of shutting teams down defensively,” Jones said. “One of the negatives [about the season] is that it took until the end of the year. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve figured that out halfway through the A-10 schedule. It’s not like we did it with seven or eight seniors, though. We can really pick up where we left off.”

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Second-half goals snap losing skid

Kate and Allicia Yurkovic started the scoring for the women’s soccer team, and Niki Conn kicked the game winner against Duquesne.

Seven straight losses dotted the women’s soccer schedule the last few weeks. The Owls, then, desperately needed a signature win to get back on track.

Temple (5-8-1, 1-4 Atlantic Ten Conference) managed to get just that on Sunday, when the Owls defeated the Duquesne Dukes, 3-2, in come-from-behind fashion.

After junior midfielder Kristin Vinicky scored in the 68th minute to put the Dukes (3-9, 0-5) up 2-0, the Owls appeared destined to continue their losing ways. Fortunately, however, a pair of sisters were determined to keep their team in the game.

Freshman forward Kate Yurkovic scored a little more than a minute later, heading the ball past goalkeeper Gabby Morrin. Not to be outdone by her little sister, sophomore midfielder Allicia Yurkovic took a pass from sophomore midfielder Niki Conn and headed in the tying goal, narrowly avoiding collision with the goalpost in the process.

But Conn wasn’t done just yet, and neither were the Owls. With less than five minutes remaining in the game, Conn took a pass from junior midfielder Meridith Crowell and broke toward the net. Eluding Duquesne defenders, Conn soon found herself with just Morrin to beat. A swift kick bested Morrin, giving the Owls the lead for good.

The Yurkovic sisters, who played together at Central Dauphin High School in Harrisburg, seemed to feed off each other, Temple coach David Jones said.

“Kate’s really stepped it up, and since Kate’s stepped it up, I think [Allicia] has decided, ‘Hey, I have to keep up with her,’” Jones said. “Having them together, along with Niki, is really starting to come through.”

Facing Morrin provided a challenge for the Owls, as her goalkeeping style is far from routine. Morrin, a 5-foot-11-inch junior, played aggressively, oftentimes coming out to midfield to control the ball. In fact, Morrin took the free kicks for the Dukes, something usually reserved for defenders or midfielders.

“She’s dangerous,” Jones said. “We really felt since she plays so far off her line that we could get some chances, and we did. At the end of the day, she’s just like any other goalkeeper.”

Speaking of goalkeepers, freshman Gillian Kacsuta replaced junior Kara Williams in net for the Owls. The reason for the change was largely to shake things up, Jones said.

“I think Gillian did fine,” Jones said. “Since we weren’t winning, we went with a keeper change to see if we could mix it up a little bit, and obviously, it was a difference today.”

While any win is significant for a team trying to snap a losing streak, the way that the Cherry and White stayed resilient makes Sunday’s victory even bigger, Jones said.

“It’s huge,” Jones said. “It’s one of those games that you’re not sure it’s going to go your way. We just kept fighting back, and unfortunately, sometimes you have to go down a goal or two.

“It gives us a ton of momentum,” Jones added. “That’s exactly what we needed. We needed to do something to get a win and to tip the scales in our favors, and hopefully, this is just the start of everything.”

The victory also snapped another, more statistically peculiar streak for the Owls.

“The last four games we’ve lost 2-1,” Jones said. “We decided before the game today that we weren’t going to lose 2-1. No matter what the score was, no matter what happened, we were going to keep plugging away.”

The Owls hope to make further progress on Friday, when they face cross-town rival La Salle. The game begins at 5 p.m.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Owls drop A-10 home opener

The women’s soccer team lost, 2-1, to Rhode Island on Sunday. The Owls have now lost four straight.

After starting the season 4-1-1, the women’s soccer team has dropped four in a row and all of a sudden finds itself in last place in the Atlantic Ten Conference.

Entering the conference home opener against the Rhode Island Rams, Temple was hoping to regain some of the defensive prowess that led to a successful start to the season. After winning their first three games at home, the Owls went on the road, only to be outscored 9-2 in three losses. The last loss in the road trip came at the hands of A-10 rival Dayton. The Owls lost 4-0 to the Flyers on Friday, putting their A-10 record at 0-1.

When the Rams (3-5-1) visited the Ambler Sports Complex on Sunday, Sept. 27, the Owls were presented with an opportunity to bounce back from the opening loss against the Flyers. Unfortunately, it was not to be, as the Rams came out firing, ultimately winning 2-1.

Sophomore forward Stephanie Santos scored the first Rhode Island goal. She took a pass from senior Ina Bjorklid and sped downfield. Temple junior goalkeeper Kara Williams moved out of the net to challenge Santos but slipped due to the wet field conditions. Santos took advantage of a lucky bounce and beat two Temple defenders to put the Rams up 1-0.

“I just wanted to be aggressive and come out,” Williams said. “That’s an awkward ball. What are the odds it’s going to bounce off [Santos] and bounce forward? It’s a tough break, but I’ve got to get the next one.”

“That was the first time [Santos] used her speed, so you don’t know how quick she is,” coach David Jones added. “Maybe nine out of 10 times, Kara makes that save, or the ball bounces somewhere else. Unfortunately, that one went right to [Santos’] foot.”

Following a goal from Rhode Island sophomore midfielder Alexis Veith, the Owls entered the break down 2-0.

In the second half, the Owls displayed a more aggressive style of play, and they managed to draw 12 penalties in their favor. The Cherry and White made a game of it at the 61:21 mark, when junior forward Stephanie Ferretti headed in her third goal of the year off a corner kick.

The second-half surge was not enough, though, as the Owls would fail to tie it up. In the end, it was too little, too late, Jones said.

“We knew we were down 2-0, and we knew we had to step up our pace and tempo,” Jones said. “We did that, and we got that first goal, but we couldn’t get that second one. It’s tough. You can’t put yourself in a 2-0 hole and expect to keep coming back.”

Sophomore forward Niki Conn was held goalless for the fourth straight game after starting the season with six goals in her first six games. Despite Conn’s cold streak, the Owls need to find a way to score the ball, Jones said.

“We’re getting chances. We’re just not converting them,” Jones said. “Today’s a great example. We had a bunch of people that had a lot of chances. The chances we had, we just didn’t make good decisions on what to do with the ball.”

Even though the Owls have lost four games in a row, Jones remains confident his team can turn it around.

“We’re two games [into conference play],” Jones said. “We played two quality teams, and we showed we could play today. Most teams are going to be very similar to Rhode Island. We’re going to have to fight harder earlier in the game. I think we’ll be fine.”

The team will attempt to right the ship when it travels to Richmond on Friday, Oct. 2 to play the Spiders.

Kyle Gauss can be reached at kyle.gauss@temple.edu.

Long losing streak snapped with two wins

After an 11-game drought spanning more than a month and a half, the women’s soccer team finally notched a win.

Make that two.

The Owls defeated Richmond and George Washington 1-0 and 2-1 last weekend to finish their season 4-11-4 overall and 2-6-3 in the Atlantic Ten Conference. The victories over the Spiders and Colonials were the team’s first since back-to-back wins over St. Peter’s and Vermont on Sept. 12 and 14.

“I think that’s what we’ve been working toward,” coach David Jones said. “We’ve been so close all season. We had five to six games where we lost 1-0 or 2-1. And at the end of this weekend, all our hard work finally paid off.”

And it finally showed on the offensive side of the field.

Prior to the Richmond and George Washington games, Temple scored only four goals during that 11-game stretch. Two of them came in one game.

It’s not surprising then that the team won none of them and tied only three times.

“We don’t have that one player who’s the goal scorer on the team,” Jones said. “It is hard to score goals at this level, so we have had to depend on our defense to keep games close and shut the other team down.”

Temple’s largely absent offense was shutout 11 times this season and as of Oct. 27, ranked either dead last or next to last in shots, goals and assists in the 14-team conference.

Only Xavier ranked lower in two of those categories, and they finished the season with one win overall and none in the A-10, one spot below the Owls in the conference basement.

“We’re a young team,” Jones said. “Even though we had a few seniors this year, we relied on freshmen and sophomores a lot. Plus, the competition within the A-10 is hard.”

The Owls will have to face that competition next year minus the services of six seniors, including defender Cori Gallagher and forward Charisma Wright. They scored the game-winning goals in both games this weekend.

“We’re definitely going to miss them a lot,” Jones said. “They’ve grown a lot, and even though it doesn’t look like it with our win-loss record, they’ve taken this program to another level and turned the mentality around. We gave the six teams in the A-10 Tournament this year good games.”

Next year’s squad will depend heavily on this year’s sophomore class, as only one current junior, defender and midfielder Carly Metzger will be back.

“This year’s sophomores are going to start and get a lot of minutes next year,” Jones said. “[Current sophomore defender] Julia Adden will take over Cori Gallagher’s leadership role. And Allicia Yurkovic [a current freshman midfielder] will probably start, too,” he added. “She’s had some injuries but has improved as the season has gone on. We’ll also be looking at freshmen to step up and fill in at some spots.

“Hopefully, by ending on a high note, this success will carry over into next season and give us a chance to compete in every A-10 game.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Freshman Conn gives the offense a much needed boost

In soccer, you can’t win if you can’t score. You can’t score if you don’t shoot.

And freshman forward/midfielder Niki Conn does both very well for the women’s soccer team.

The first-year player has started 12 of the Owls’ 15 games this season. The opportunity to play has allowed Conn to lead the team in shots, and this has resulted in her leading the team with four goals.

That amount of playing time has translated to a successful start for the former Most Valuable Player of Cardinal O’Hara High School.

However, Conn knows the game is not the same now that she’s wearing cherry and white.

“College soccer is different from high school because the speed of play and the players are much more talented,” she said. “College players know the game much more than any high school player.”
Conn was also impressive in high school.

A four-year All-Catholic First Team selection, she led her team to a first place finish in the Southern Division in 2007 and was named MVP of both the Catholic Southern League and her O’Hara team.

That kind of success caught the eye of Temple, and with Manhattan College and West Chester also inquiring, Conn’s decision to come to North Broad Street ended up being one based on proximity.

“I chose Temple because the school is not far or too close to my house,” she said, “and the soccer team was the kind of people who I wanted to play with.”

Conn played for the PSC Coppa Club team with several current Owls.

In September, the Morton, Pa., native was named the Atlantic Ten Conference Rookie of the Week after a two-goal performance against St. Peter’s on Sept. 12. The two goals gave the team its first win of the season. She also added a game-winning assist against Vermont two days later.

But Conn doesn’t take all the credit for the achievement.

“Being named [A-10] Rookie of the Week is an awesome feeling, but not one person does everything on a team,” she said. “The team is the one getting me the ball, and they are responsible for me being named Rookie of the Week.”

Conn gives her coach, David Jones, credit as well.

“He knows what he is talking about, and when [the team] understands what he is teaching us, we play a pretty good game of soccer,” she said.

Unfortunately for the Owls, that hasn’t happened all that often, as the team is currently 2-9-4 overall and 0-4-3 in conference.

“The season is not going very well because we’re struggling to score,” Conn said. “We either lose 1-0 or tie, but as a team, I think we can all come together and work well together.”

That has turned the end of the season into must-win territory for Conn and the Owls.

“We really need to win these last four games so we don’t get down for next season,” Conn said. “We realize this team can win and can be in the top of our conference.”

Joe Serpico can be reached at gserpico@temple.edu.

Playoff push begins for fall squads

Expectations were high to start the season. Now, halfway through the fall schedule, reality has set in.
So, does that mean it’s time for an imminent playoff push or an extended winter break for your favorite teams? Let’s take a look:

Cross Country
The cross-country program continues to get its footing in the A-10. Urban cross country programs have historically had a difficult time finding success, but the Owls look to change that. The men’s team has made strides, finishing a program-best 11th in the A-10 Championship last year. The women’s team finished 13th, but looks to build on that foundation in 2008.
Prediction: Everyone gets to run in the A-10 Championship, but the Owls will remain toward the back for quite some time.

Field Hockey
It’s been a turbulent season for coach Amanda Janney. Early on, it was all too perfect, as the Owls went 3-0 and knocked off No. 14 Boston University. Since then, it has been a series of beatings from some of the country’s best. Ohio State and No. 11 Penn State posted back-to-back shutouts, and rivals Drexel and Delaware stole two games at Geasey Field. On Sunday, No. 8 Michigan State thumped Temple 9-0. It appears that the Owls’ non-conference schedule was overly ambitious. The good news is that A-10 play begins this week. Last year, the team went 6-1 in conference. Do the Owls have the firepower to get past No. 17 Massachusetts? Four years of playoff debauchery may continue.
Prediction: Another playoff bust: A-10 semifinals loss.

Men’s Soccer
It’s like The Little Engine That Could. The men’s soccer team continues to scrap and claw its way into the win column. Finally, there is some progress after two painful seasons at the Ambler Sports Complex. In 2006 and 2007, the team amounted to an overall record of 7-25-3 and plenty of frustration. The Cherry and White are currently 4-3-2 and about to embark on their A-10 schedule. Fortunately, heavyweights Saint Louis and Charlotte are off that schedule. The Owls have five straight home games to close the season, so the postseason isn’t out of consideration. In 2004, the team made it to the A-10 finals, but ultimately lost to George Washington.
Prediction: Only six teams get to dance, and 14 are jockeying for position. Another year of growth and this squad gets in.

Women’s Soccer
Much like its male counterparts, the women’s soccer team is kicking it up a notch. The Owls (2-6-3) look to improve upon their 5-10-4 season of a year ago, and it starts with their young guns. Freshman goalkeeper Courtney Douglas has assumed duties from sophomore Kara Williams. In her two starts, the Owls earned two ties, including a 0-0 shutout against Massachusetts. Freshman Niki Conn has been able to spark a notoriously anemic offense with four goals through 11 games. Playoffs might be too much for this squad right now. A step in the right direction would be a handful of conference wins on the road. Last season, the Owls went 0-5-1 in that department.
Prediction: No go on the postseason, but improved record from 2007.

Women’s Volleyball
Coach Bob Bertucci has done a remarkable job with this squad. The team is comprised mostly of underclassmen, but you wouldn’t know it. With an 11-7 record, they are a legitimate threat in the postseason. So far, they have dominated the Atlantic Ten Conference, posting a 4-1 record. Finding a replacement for outside hitter Yue Liu hasn’t been a problem, as junior Yun Yi Zhang has more than adequately fit the role. Zhang leads the conference in kills with 261 and total points with 291.5. If the Owls want the respect they deserve, they’ll need to cut down the conference’s traditional powerhouses. The West Division has a stranglehold on the crown, with Saint Louis winning in 2006 and Dayton from 2003-2005 and in 2007.
Prediction: The beasts of the east, but runners-up to the rest. Owls fall in a late-round game in the A-10 Championship.

Summary
Some Owls will get to taste the postseason, while others are far from it. Hey, there’s always next year.

Anthony Stipa can be reached at anthonystipa@temple.edu.

A-10 schedule starts with ties for women’s soccer team

Much like the football team, the women’s soccer team has struggled to score as of late, putting only 10 balls in the back of the net in its 10 games this season.

Unlike the football team, however, the women can say they are off to a good start in the conference portion of their schedule.

With two ties this weekend against Xavier and Massachusetts, the Owls (2-5-3 overall) technically stand undefeated in the Atlantic Ten Conference at 0-0-2.

“Last year, we started off real strong in the non-conference portion of our schedule, but we didn’t finish,” coach David Jones said. “This year in non-conference, we did things a little differently. We moved some people, some young players, around to different positions. This game [against UMass] was the best game we have played, definitely.”

After opening A-10 play on the road against Xavier and coming away with a 2-2 tie, the Owls faced a UMass team on Sunday that they had not played since 2006.

That game ended in a 1-0 victory for the Minutewomen.

This time neither team scored.

“Sometimes it’s nice playing an opponent you’re not familiar with because then all you have to worry about is what to do on your own team,” senior defender Cori Gallagher said. “It was a bit of a challenge, but I think this game [against UMass] was the most consistently organized game we’ve played all year. To play like we did against two quality teams in the first weekend of A-10 play is just unbelievable.”

To build on that start and avoid last year’s 1-8-2 record against A-10 opponents that landed the team one spot above the conference basement, the Owls’ offense will have to find some life. Currently 12th in the conference in goals scored per game, the offense has only attempted 104 shots through 10 games.

That leaves the team tied for 12th in that category, too. Only 14 teams make up the A-10.

“The offense just needs more opportunities,” Jones said. “It needs smarter opportunities. We need to get the ball in the box more often to generate more chances for goals. I think some people need to be a little more selfish, too.”

One of the team’s – and offense’s- bright spots so far has been freshman forward Niki Conn. Conn, who was named A-10 Soccer Rookie of the Week for the week of Sept. 15, leads the team with four goals.

“Our offense is working toward scoring more goals,” sophomore midfielder Sara Scheid said. “We have a deep bench and one of our freshman players [Conn] is a complete asset. We’re working on getting into the box.”

Luckily for the Owls, their two goalkeepers, sophomore Kara Williams and freshman Courtney Douglas, have combined to save 62 would-be goals, good for a tie for first place in the A-10 with the University of Rhode Island.

“Our defense has been putting all the parts together,” Gallagher said. “It’s not just the four of us in the back. It’s everyone on the team.”

The defense will need to continue to pull the weight, as Temple will face Philadelphia-rival St. Joseph’s on Sunday before traveling to Charlotte and St. Louis the following weekend. The 49ers and Billikens were picked to finish No.1 and No. 3, respectively, in an A-10 preseason coaches’ poll.

“We just have to keep plugging away and approach each weekend as a separate piece to a puzzle,” Jones said.

Gallagher seconded Jones’ opinion.

“This is definitely the portion of the season that means the most,” she said. “We have to build off this weekend and step up and reach our goal of making it to the A-10s. It started this weekend.”

Jennifer Reardon can be reached at jennifer.reardon@temple.edu.

Optimistic women’s soccer team ready to go

Temple women’s soccer coach David Jones has to feel optimistic about the 2008 season.

With a bevy of returning talent packing the lineup and the progressive tutelage that Jones and his staff offer the girls each year, the Owls feel it is only a matter of time before the tough losses suffered in the past transfer over into the win column.

Jones, who enters his sixth season as coach with a career record of 21-61-8, heads an Owls team that went 5-10-4 overall (1-8-2 in the Atlantic Ten Conference) last season and finished one spot above the basement in the conference.

However, 10 starters return from that team, and the added experience and trust among the players can only make for improved chemistry.

“Our goal is to go to the A-10 Tournament,” Jones said. “We’re young, but we hope with our schedule we can get organized and win some games.”

Leading the Owls once again this season are midfielder Jenna Rankin, forward Wendy Halina and defenseman Cori Gallagher, all seniors. Rankin, a 5-foot-6-inch native of Fairless Hills, Pa., finished third on the Owls in scoring with nine points a year ago—three goals and three assists.

She started every game and became the dual offensive threat for a team that had its troubles finding the back of the net. But even more so, she has become somewhat of an unspoken leader for the team.
“I think the seniors are my first recruit class here at Temple,” Jones said. “They have developed and will compete this season. Jenna has worked real hard this offseason playing in the [Women’s Premier Soccer League].”

“[The seniors] will be hard workers and I think they’ll be ready to step up to the challenge,” he added.

In addition to the veterans, Jones welcomes back an abundance of starters who have contributed to this rebuilding process, including goalkeeper Kara Williams and defenseman Liz Roper, both sophomores.

As a wide-eyed freshman, Williams started every game between the pipes for the Owls, posting a 1.49 goals-against average, including three shutouts. She also received A-10 All-Rookie honors.

“Kara had a great freshman year. She stepped up to the challenge,” Jones said. “This year, we hope to have a stronger back line to take some of the pressure off her. Our assistant coach [Dave Dixon] was a world-class goalkeeper, so she has a great coach. We’re excited about her sophomore season.”

Joining Temple from overseas this season are forward/midfielder Jessica Stenberg and midfielder/defenseman Tiia Kuokka, both eager freshmen from Sweden and Finland, respectively.

The Owls’ first A-10 contest is slated for Sept. 26 at Xavier. Along the way, conference rivals such as Charlotte and Fordham will also be tough tests. Jones, however, feels his squad is ready to take action in the league.

“It’ll be tough,” the Owls’ coach said of the conference schedule. “It seems like every team, every year is getting better. I think it will be a challenge to make the top six needed to get in the [A-10] Tournament.

“If we can get organized in the non-conference schedule, we’ll be fine.”

So now the question becomes, can the Owls revive a Temple program that has fallen victim to a few dismal seasons and earn back respect on campus, and more importantly, in the A-10?

“It’s going to come down to winning games,” Jones said. “We’ve got to step on the field and win games. If you don’t win games, at any level, you won’t get the respect.”

Bud Weaver can be reached at bud.weaver@temple.edu.