Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Alex Cagle dove to the left. The ball, however, flew right, hitting the back of the net.
St. John’s University sophomore midfielder Alistair Johnston’s penalty-kick goal in the 70th minute ended up being the game-winner in the Red Storm’s 2-0 victory against Temple Saturday night at Belson Stadium in New York.
The Red Storm scored again just four minutes after their penalty kick, essentially ending the Owls’ chances in a game that had been deadlocked for 69 minutes. This is the second consecutive loss for Temple, which drops to 1-3-1 and hasn’t won a game since Aug. 29.
“The game was not great,” coach David MacWilliams said. “There’s not much that I can look at and say that I’m happy or positive about. We have to do better.”
When it came to shots, the teams seemed evenly matched. Temple finished with 10 total shots and two shots on goal, while St John’s ended the night with nine shots, three of which were on target.
Temple couldn’t turn shots into goals and at times during the game, the Owls had difficulty generating opportunities.
“Our final passes weren’t great in the last third of the field,” MacWilliams said. “That’s a problem we’ve been having in the past couple of games and need to be better with.”
Through their first five games, the Owls have scored just three goals, which averages to 0.6 goals per game. Meanwhile, they have given up seven goals.
MacWilliams has been making adjustments to the starting lineup in an attempt to find a combination that works. Freshman defender Darri Sigthorsson earned his second start while sophomore forward Lukas Fernandes started in his first game this season.
“We really just have to find some momentum,” MacWilliams said. “We need a win that will help get our confidence back up.”
Fernandes registered two shots, one of which was on target. Sophomore forward Thibault Candia led the Owls with three shots.
Temple played its fourth away game in a five-match stretch on Saturday. Temple’s next game will be on the road when it plays Fairfield University on Saturday.
“I definitely think that all the away games affects us a whole lot,” MacWilliams said. “Still, it’s no excuse. We didn’t win at home either.”
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