As the clock wound down, the Owls were down a goal. With just over three minutes left in the game, junior forward Lukas Fernandes scored, sending Temple down a familiar path.
The game went to overtime, the Owls playing more than 90 minutes for the fourth consecutive game.
“Unfortunately, we’re getting used to it,” coach Brian Rowland said.
Neither Temple (2-4-1) nor Duquesne University were able to come up with the game-winner, so after 110 minutes of action, the game ended in a 1-1 tie on Sunday night in Pittsburgh, PA.
“I’m not someone who’s going to play the overtimes for ties,” Rowland said. “We push to win, and I was happy that we created some chances to win the game, but I was certainly happy that we didn’t give anything away that would’ve cost us or would have resulted in a loss.”
The Owls recorded four shots to Duquesne’s three shots in the two overtime periods. The Dukes managed to get a shot on goal in overtime, forcing junior goalkeeper Michael Samnik to make his fifth save of the night.
Samnik earned his second start of the season against Duquesne, his first coming against Old Dominion University on Sept. 2.
“I think with the number of games we’ve had in a short period of time, it’s important to keep players sharp and fresh,” Rowland said. “Mike deserved to get a game and we had sort of earmarked a few games to be rotated, so I think he’s played well.”
Samnik faced a total 13 shots from the Dukes. Meanwhile, the Owls sent off 11 shots, three of which were on target. Two of Temple’s shots on goal came in the first period of overtime.
Despite the extra minutes, the Owls became more aggressive on the attack in overtime, doing their best to delay the fatigue that comes with four overtime games in 12 days.
“I think we have true competitors,” Rowland said. “This game, I think they had players that were going down with cramps, and we’ve shown a really good level of fitness and work rate and hunger to compete in games that I think has been very positive.”
Seven Owls contributed to Temple’s 11 shots. Sophomore defender Pierre Cayet led the team with three shots. Freshman midfielder Jalen Campbell and sophomore forward Justin Hahn recorded two shots each. Campbell also earned the assist on the first goal of the season for Fernandes.
In Temple’s next game, the Owls start American Athletic Conference play at home against University of Central Florida on Sept. 21. Even though Temple is heading into conference play coming off two losses and a tie, Rowland isn’t concerned.
“In some ways, it gives us sort of a fresh start to the season and certainly a really, really good test to start our campaign,” Rowland said. “Certainly, we’ve had a tough run of it to start the season, but I think it will make us stronger going forward.”
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