Temple Men’s Soccer entered its game against Drexel hoping to find any source of momentum after dropping two of its last three games. For that to happen, the Owls needed a lift from their offense, which was on life support after three straight scoreless games.
The Dragons immediately put the Owls in a hole. Drexel needed all but three minutes to take an early advantage, when defender Gavin Carmichael’s shot got past goalkeeper Andrew Kempe.
The Owls were unable to recover from the early deficit and are still searching for their first goal in four games.
Temple Men’s Soccer (1-3-2, 0-0-0 American Athletic Conference) fell to Drexel (2-3, 0-1 Coastal Athletic Association) 2-0 on Tuesday night. This is the longest goal drought the Owls experienced since 2019, when they went three straight games without a goal.
“We’re a young team, but we got to step up to the plate and battle,” said head coach Bryan Green. “We have to start better than we did tonight and even the last game.”
Temple’s defense allowed three second-half goals against No. 15 Penn on Sept. 6, and the defensive lapses continued. The Dragons’ first shot of the game made its way home to put Drexel on top in a flash.
The Owls had their backs against the wall for much of the first half, but they had a chance to strike back in the 12th minute. Temple forward Elliot Rigbert blasted a shot, but it missed the mark. Forward Charlie Votel had a chance of his own seconds after, but Drexel goalkeeper Raphael Bartell swallowed up the attempt.
The Dragons kept their foot on the gas, searching for a chance to dash the Owls hopes. They found it in the 24th minute when forward Dominick Bachstein sent a shot that got past Kempe and doubled Drexel’s lead.
Temple forward Xavier Rimpel was given a yellow card in the 28th minute for unsporting which led to three other Owls’ fouls and a Dragon foul as both teams kicked up the aggressive plays as halftime was approaching.
The Owls looked to cut into Drexel’s lead just before halftime with a shot from forward Nathan Brown, but Bartell made a save near the top left of the net to keep the Temple offensive woes going.
Temple went into the locker room looking for an offensive spark. The Owls continued to rip shots, but were fruitless time and time again. Rimpel sent a ball but it never came close to the net. Midfielder George Medill followed suit three minutes later, but the result was the same; a miss.
“We wanted to play with speed and aggression but we came out on our heels,” Green said. “It was really an uphill battle all game. It wasn’t a change, just better execution.”
Kempe suffered from a Dragon shooting barrage all game, facing 20 shots. He recorded a season-high of six saves on the day, including one the 56th minute against Drexel forward Ethan Schaefer to keep the game in reach.
Kempe’s performance wasn’t enough to save the free falling Owls. Temple sent 11 shots to Bartell but none of them put the Owls on the scoreboard for the fourth straight game.
Temple will travel to the midwest for its next game to take on Akron (1-1-3, 0-0 Big East Conference) at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m.
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