Owls earn first conference win in comeback fashion

Following her two-goal game last week against Drexel University, Owls’ junior forward Emily Kavanaugh notched another two goals against the University of Cincinnati, bringing her to a total of six goals so far this season. 

Temple University women’s soccer (3-3-3, 1-1 The American Athletic Conference) defeated the Bearcats (5-4-1, 1-1 The American) 3-2 at the Temple Sports Complex on Thursday night.

The Owls fell behind early after Bearcats’ sophomore midfielder Lauren Bastian scored at the 13-minute mark on a penalty kick that got by Owls’ junior goalkeeper Kamryn Stablein. 

Despite being outshot 11-3 in the first half, the Owls went into halftime trailing by one.

“At halftime we just talked about how we knew there was more out there for us,” said head coach Nick Bochette. “We just had to be a little more precise and composed and we were confident that we could score goals.”

The Bearcats struck again immediately after halftime when junior forward Kendall Battle took a shot from inside the penalty box at the 47th minute. Although Stablein dove for the ball, it slipped by her.  

The Owls wasted no time responding, with Kavanaugh scoring from inside the penalty box four minutes later on a pass from junior forward Hailey Gutowski.

Temple got back on the scoresheet at the 55th minute, when Kavanaugh scored again, this time from just outside of the penalty box. 

Freshman midfielder Carly Steinberg delivered the game-winning goal for the Owls with just more than two minutes left in regulation, knocking a free kick from freshman midfielder Lexy Endres into the net.

“I cannot say enough about the character and the grit of the girls,” Bochette said. “That was all on them. They decided to dig in and gut it out and that is the kind of character that takes you places.”

With six conference games to go this season, the Owls are trying to get back to the conference tournament, but will not look too far ahead on the schedule, Bochette added.

“We play like we are 0-0 every week and are playing our first game of the season,” Bochette said. “With that being said, the recipe for making the playoffs is taking care of your games at home, and this was a big one.”

The Owls will look to take home their third consecutive win when they face the University of Tulsa (5-4-1, 0-1 The American) on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m. at the Temple Sports Complex.