PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Coming out of halftime of Saturday’s Big East conference championship game, Temple and UConn were both kept quiet on offense. The Owls had no shots in the first half while UConn was held to just two. Both sides were looking for a chance to gain an advantage in the fight for a championship.
UConn earned the first penalty corner of the game for either side four minutes into the third quarter. The Owls looked like they stopped the initial shot, but the ball hit back Lina Neilson’s body and UConn was awarded a penalty stroke. Huskies’ forward Julia Bressler stepped up and fired a shot past Temple goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale to give UConn a one-goal lead.
Temple (12-8, 5-2 Big East) fell to UConn (17-3, 6-1 Big East) 1-0 Sunday afternoon at Lennon Family Field. The Owls outshot UConn but were unable to find a goal in the shutout loss.
Temple had numerous opportunities after UConn’s goal to find the equalizer but the Huskies’ defense stopped them time and time again. The Owls had three penalty corners in the final 90 seconds, but none resulted in the equalizer and Temple fell to the Huskies, ending its season.
“We wanted to put high press on them today and pressure on their back line,” said midfielder Devin Kinzel. “Their backline is all freshmen and one fifth year so we scouted that. I think we did a really good job of pressing. We outshot and out-cornered them. It’s just a matter of capitalizing, and we just couldn’t finish it today.”
It took just three minutes for the high-powered UConn offense to test the Owls’ defense. Temple back Alizé Maes misplayed a pass and allowed UConn forward Sophie Perschk to have a chance for a goal. Ospitale was up for the early challenge and made the save. From there the game turned into a defensive battle.
UConn had another shot with five minutes left in the first quarter that never presented a threat to Ospitale. The Owls’ offense, which has struggled all year with slow starts, continued the narrative. Temple did not have a shot attempt during the first half, despite creating multiple offensive fast breaks.
With each fast break the Owls had, the UConn defense was there to eliminate the pressure. Temple midfielder Catherine Arentz had the best chance of the first half in the middle of the second quarter. Arentz took a long pass into the UConn circle and looked like she had a chance to shoot, but lost possession before she could challenge Huskies goalkeeper Natalie McKenna.
The Owls’ defense continued to stifle the Huskies’ attack, not allowing them to have any shot attempts in the second quarter either. Midfielder Agustina Tucceri scored the game-winner against Old Dominion on Friday and made her impact felt defensively against UConn. Tucceri forced multiple Huskies’ turnovers to win extra possessions for the Owls.
As the second half got underway, the UConn offense began to generate pressure on the Owls’ defense. The Huskies earned a penalty corner just four minutes into the third quarter and had a chance to finally break through.
The initial shot from UConn looked like it was stopped by Neilson, but the referees ruled the ball hit her body and UConn was awarded a penalty stroke. Bressler stepped up to take the shot and fired it past Ospitale to give the Huskies a one-goal lead.
Temple attempted to respond a couple of minutes later with a penalty corner of its own. The Owls set up a similar play to the one that gave them the win against ODU but Tucceri’s chip shot went above the net.
The Owls earned another penalty corner with four minutes left in the third quarter and had their best opportunity yet to find the back of the net. However, Kinzel had her shot blocked and the rebound shot from Neilson hit the side of the net, keeping Temple off the scoreboard. After struggling during the first half, Temple’s offense finally found a groove in the third quarter with five shots.
“I think towards the end we definitely made sure that we were able to get the ball forward again and keep it on our sticks,” said midfielder Tess Muller. “We made a few mistakes, but that can happen, and I think we had each other’s backs today.”
In the fourth quarter, the Owls continued to put the pressure on the UConn defense. Temple earned three penalty corners in the final 90 seconds but all three chances were stopped by the Huskies defense. Temple outshot UConn 9-5 and earned four more penalty corners than the Huskies, but it was the Huskies who found the back of the net.
The Owls are unlikely to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which would end their season. Temple will lose Maes, Muller and Kinzel to graduation, setting up an offseason of change for the program.
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