Field hockey only manages two shots on goal in shutout loss

Entering Friday’s game, Temple had three wins in a row against Old Dominion University.

Temple couldn’t continue its streak against Old Dominion. The Owls (3-8, 0-4 Big East Conference) were shutout for the second time of the season in a 4-0 loss on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia.

Temple remains winless in conference play and is the only team in the Big East without a conference win. With only three Big East games remaining and Temple in last place, the Owls are in danger of missing their first conference tournament since they posted a 2-4 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2002.

Four different Monarchs, including sophomore back Rebecca Birch, scored on Friday. Birch scored in the fifth minute to open the scoring. Redshirt-senior midfielder Julia Van Dorsten and freshman midfielder and back Cameran Nery-Strickland assisted Old Dominion’s first two goals.

Temple’s only two shots on goal came in the final 20 minutes. The team only took one shot in the first half.

Temple’s three wins against Old Dominion came in key late-season situations. In 2014, the Owls beat the Monarchs in the Big East semifinal round. In 2015, they beat them in Norfolk, Virginia, to start a four-game winning streak that qualified them for the Big East tournament. In 2016, the Owls beat the Monarchs to win their fourth game in a row.

The Monarchs were nationally ranked all three times. This year’s Old Dominion team is below .500 and entered its game against Temple on a three-game winning streak. The Monarchs, however, have a shot at postseason play. They are tied for fourth in the league with Quinnipiac University. The top four teams reach the conference tournament.

Temple faces the University of California, Davis on Sunday at noon at Howarth Field before it resumes Big East play on Friday at home against Villanova, which is 1-3 in league play.