Temple recorded its second win of the season with a late victory in overtime against Sacred Heart University, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Owls came back to claim a 3-2 overtime victory in New Haven, Connecticut on Sunday.
The Owls (2-8, 0-2 Big East Conference) started slowly and went into half time down 1-0. After turning the game around to lead 2-1, they conceded a goal with three minutes to go, sending the game into overtime at 2-2. The Owls found a winning goal through junior midfielder Rachael Mueller in the final two minutes of the overtime period.
The Owls were outshot 6-4 in the first half and found themselves behind 1-0.
“We unfortunately started off a bit slow this game,” coach Marybeth Freeman said. “We had to kind of play from behind.”
Temple came out a different team immediately after halftime. The Owls outshot Sacred Heart 7-1 in the first 25 minutes of the second half, turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead.
“I think we just needed to settle down to be honest,” Freeman said. “We kind of got into a little bit of a deficit. We were able to settle down at halftime and gather our thoughts and really stick to the game plan.”
Junior forward Christina Gotthold was able to equalize for Sacred Heart with three minutes to go, sending the game to overtime. Mueller ensured the Owls got their victory, scoring late in overtime for the 3-2 victory.
After senior forward Katie Foran scored the first goal, Mueller scored the next two. She now has four goals in her last four games after scoring one in her previous six.
“[Mueller’s] just getting more and more confident as the season goes on,” Freeman said. “She is very unorthodox and that oftentimes makes her a very difficult forward to play against, which I’m really enjoying.”
After ending their five-game losing streak, the Owls will look to use this win as a turning point and get their season on track.
“We always say the most important game is the next game and I was really happy to see us get this win today and snap that streak, but you know we’re going to be right back at it tomorrow,” Freeman said. “We’ll celebrate tonight and then we’ll get right back at it tomorrow watching video of Georgetown and go from there.”
The Owls continue their season against Georgetown on Friday at 6 p.m. back at Howarth Field.
Dan Fitzpatrick can be reached at daniel.fitzpatrick@temple.edu
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