The Owls fell flat in a 4-1 loss against Wake Forest on Saturday at Geasey Field.
Field hockey picked up a 4-1 victory Friday in its Atlantic Ten Conference opener against St. Joseph’s, but the Cherry and White found itself on the losing side of the same score with Wake Forest last Saturday. The Owls fell 4-1 to the Demon Deacons despite holding their opponent scoreless in the second half.
Entering Saturday’s game there was no secret that both Temple (4-10, A-10 1-0) and Wake Forest (3-8) would’ve liked to be having better seasons than they’ve had thus far as both teams dropped five of the last six games. However, Wake Forest showed few signs of struggle in the first half as the Demon Deacons scored four goals.
Two-and-a-half minutes into the game, Demon Deacons’ sophomore forward Jess McFadyen converted on a penalty stroke giving Wake Forest the one-goal edge. With less then 15 minutes remaining in the first half, Wake Forest went on a scoring spree.
Wake Forest sophomore forward Kari Walkley scored two goals less than three minutes apart. The first one came from a pass to the left side from Wake Forest senior midfielder Kaitlin Piosa, while the second goal came when Walkley ripped a shot from the top of the point. Sophomore midfielder Taylor Rhea added to the Wake Forest lead when she scored off a rebound giving the Demon Deacons a four-goal lead going into halftime.
The Owls looked flat and fatigued during the first half and were outshot 14-3 by the Demon Deacons.
“We definitely came out flat to start the game,” Owls’ senior midfielder Kaylee Keener said. “Wake Forest is a really good team and they deserve credit because they played a great game but we definitely needed to come out stronger than we did.”
The Owls’ fortunes did not improve offensively in the second half. The Demon Deacons harassed the Owls’ offense, making it difficult for the Cherry and White to get any shots on goal.
“They were a great defensive team, they took away our first and second options constantly, which made things really difficult offensively,” senior forward Caryn Lambright said.
With 19 minutes left in play, the Owls finally broke the zero on the scoreboard when senior forward Bridget Settles cashed in on a penalty corner. Settles’ goal finalized the score at 4-1 in favor of Wake Forest.
“We definitely seemed fatigued after this game,” coach Amanda Janney said. “This is good for our team going forward towards the Atlantic Ten Conference Tournament. We need to get used to playing back-to-back days.”
The Owls will see how they fare in the A-10 on Friday, Oct. 14 when they face conference-foe Richmond.
–Kieran McCauley
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