Junior midfielder Kathryn Edgar led Temple University through their two-game homestand on Sept. 21 and 23 at Howarth Field.
Temple (2-6, 0-1 Big East Conference) lost to Providence College, 2-3 on Friday but beat Towson University (1-7) on a penalty stroke goal from Edgar Sunday afternoon at Howarth Field. Her goal gave the Owls a 2-1 victory, and their first home win of the season.
“It was a huge team success,” Edgar said. “We battled right to the end and I was lucky enough and fortunate enough to have that last opportunity to put the ball in the net.”
Edgar received a penalty stroke opportunity earlier in the game, but her shot missed wide on the left side.
“I unfortunately messed up the first one, but I was ready to step up and right my wrong,” Edgar said.
Towson’s senior midfielder Katie McNeel scored first, driving the ball into the left side of the net on a penalty corner in the first half.
Sophomore back Dani Batze tied the game eight minutes into the second half. Sophomore midfielder Taylor Alba received the corner insert and set the ball to Batze, who pulled it to the right and drove it past freshman goalkeeper Mackenzie Peacock.
In the final two minutes, Temple was awarded three consecutive penalty corner chances. During the final corner, with all the Owls in the circle and no time on the clock, referees called a second penalty stroke.
Coach Marybeth Freeman trusted Edgar to make the shot.
“I turned to Kat and I said, ‘Do you want it?’ and she said ‘Yes,’” Freeman said after the game. “That says a lot about her mental fortitude.”
“I knew our team had momentum, and I was happy to see the discipline that we played with,” Freeman said. “You never want to take a team into overtime.”
On Friday night, the Owls lost to Providence College (5-5, 1-1) in overtime.
Edgar scored the first goal of the game for the Owls with a shot that was out of Providence senior goalkeeper Lydia Rice’s reach.
The Friars tied the game with a little more than eight minutes left in the first half, then took the lead only 29-seconds before halftime. Senior forward Natalie Mitchell received a pass near the left goalpost and tapped the ball between senior goalkeeper Chloe Johnson’s legs.
With just over ten minutes remaining, redshirt freshman midfielder and forward Grace Shanton scored on a crisp penalty corner to tie the game for the Owls.
The game stayed knotted at two apiece for the rest of regulation and through the first overtime period. The Friars finished the game with three minutes, 45 seconds left in the second overtime on a penalty corner.
The Owls will be on the road Tuesday to play Liberty University, ranked 19th in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association Poll.
“We’ll be as focused as possible going down to that game,” Freeman said. “We’re not going down there to not put our best foot forward.”
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