Temple went into the fourth quarter of its game against Quinnipiac on Friday clinging to a one-goal lead in a desperate attempt to finally end its three-game skid. The Owls struck early with a first-quarter goal from back Alizé Maes to give Temple its first opening-quarter goal since defeating Georgetown on Oct. 18.
The Owls’ defense had stifled the Quinnipiac offense all game, but just two minutes into the fourth quarter the Bobcats finally broke through. They earned a penalty corner and Temple’s defense made the initial stop, but forward Lucia Pompeo corralled the rebound and tied the game at one.
Temple needed just two minutes to strike back, earning a penalty corner of its own. It was Maes who rose to the challenge again for the Owls. She took a pass from midfielder Devin Kinzel and slipped a shot past Quinnipiac goalkeeper Cristina Torres to retake the lead. Temple’s defense held off Quinnipiac for the final 10 minutes and the Owls were able to escape with the win and snap its three-game skid.
Temple (10-7, 5-2 Big East Conference) took down Quinnipiac (2-16, 0-7 Big East) 2-1 Friday afternoon at Howarth Field. The Owls’ five conference wins mark the most in a season since 2013.
“A game like that is always amazing,” Maes said. “I think they fought hard. I think we fought hard. It was an important game for us and it was a fun game for us. When we win it is a great thing. Whether I’m the one scoring or not.”
Temple struggled with generating early offense and finding the back of the net during its three-game losing streak. The Owls had been shut out in their last two games but were determined to break out of their slump and put the Bobcats away early.
Just two minutes into the first quarter midfielder Tess Muller nearly gave Temple the lead. Muller dribbled down the field to find herself in front of the goal and fired off a shot. Torres made the save and the rebound subsequently found its way back to Muller, who was stopped by Torres once again.
Temple had a chance to snap the dry spell five minutes later. Midfielder Peyton Rieger maneuvered down the baseline and sent a perfect pass into the circle for Maes. Torres had stopped Muller’s shots but stood no chance against the rocket off Maes’ stick that gave Temple a 1-0 lead.
“Conversion, which is just always the most important thing that we need to focus on, sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Temple head coach Michelle Vittese. “Today, it happened and when we can control that, we have to be able to put those in as early as we can.”
Once Temple took the lead, the defenses stepped up and commanded the game. The Owls did not have another shot attempt for the rest of the first quarter while Quinnipiac had two chances that the Owls’ defense easily stopped.
The defensive momentum carried over into the second quarter, as the teams combined for just three shots all quarter. The Owls entered the locker room with a 1-0 lead, their first halftime lead since the Georgetown game.
The offenses on both sides continued to sputter as the third quarter ensued. Midfielder Myrthe Schuilenburg had a shot just a minute into the third quarter, but Torres was there to make the save. Torres single-handedly kept the Bobcats in the game, stepping up once again to deny Muller’s shot after a penalty corner in the final two minutes of the quarter.
Quinnipiac earned a penalty corner two minutes into the fourth quarter and Pompeo got the best of Temple goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale to tie the game at one.
The Quinnipiac triumph was short-lived as Temple immediately went back on the attack looking to regain the lead. The Owls earned a penalty corner and once again it was Maes who found the back of the net, firing a shot past Torres to give Temple the lead with 10 minutes remaining.
“We do a good job defensively, being strong and playing together,” Maes said. “I think that goal can be avoided, but then again, it’s a great goal from Quinnipiac. If we can clean that up then we have a good chance of doing very well.”
The Owls held off Quinnipiac for the final 10 minutes despite the Bobcats pulling Torres for an extra field player with seven minutes left. Temple pulled out the win and clinched the second seed in the Big East tournament next weekend at Providence, where they will take on Old Dominion for the third straight year.
Temple finishes out its regular season at home against Lehigh (6-9, 1-4 Patriot League) on Nov. 3 at noon.
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