Temple squanders first half lead in loss at USF

Temple men’s soccer (2-4-2, 0-2 American Athletic Conference) fell to the University of South Florida (2-3-2, 1-0-1 American) 2-1 on Saturday night at Corbett Stadium in Tampa, Florida. Temple is now on a two-game losing streak and has not won against a conference opponent in more than 500 days.

KEY PLAYS

• In the eighth minute, Temple freshman midfielder Draven Barnett received a yellow card for a dangerous tackle.
• In the 20th minute, redshirt-junior forward Sean Karani scored on a curling shot inside the top of the box to give Temple the lead. Freshman defender Sawyer Koza assisted the goal when he sent in a cross from the right flank before Karani faked the shot to create space for the goal.
• At the 30-minute mark, Barnett received his second yellow card of the game with another dangerous play and subsequently got a red card, ejecting him from the match and dropping the Owls to 10 men.
• In the 68th minute of the game, South Florida sophomore center back/midfielder Brian Schaefer tied it up at one with a headed goal from a corner kick assisted by senior midfielder Gabrielle Privitera.
• Just seconds later, sophomore forward Xavier Rimpel almost retook the lead for Temple, but his low-driven shot went just wide of the net.
• The Bulls took the lead in the 74th minute as sophomore winger/midfielder Marcus Victorio scored the game-winning goal off a deflected shot. The goal was assisted by Privitera with a pass that tipped off freshman goalkeeper Micah Ramirez’s hands and into the back of the net.

THE NUMBERS

• Temple’s Karani scored his second goal of the season which ties him for the team lead.
• Temple’s Koza recorded his first career assist in the match.
• South Florida’s Schaefer and Victorio each scored their first goal of the season.
• Temple’s Ramirez recorded four saves in the loss.

WORDS FROM COACH

“The guys’ effort was exceptional, it was very difficult circumstances,” said head Temple coach Brian Rowland. “We have to stop creating these circumstances for ourselves because it will be very difficult to win games in our conference.”

“We competed exceptionally well, but when you have to play a man down for that amount of time it’s a very difficult task,” Rowland added. “On the road as well, we made this game more difficult than we needed it to be.”

“Four red cards [this season] is mind-blowing to me,” Rowland said. “It’s cost us games and it cost us the game tonight. It’s really affected the rhythm of the team.”

ON TAP

The Owls will stay on the road and look to rebound against Southern Methodist University (5-2-1, 1-1 American) on Sept. 30 with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium.