Owls advance in tournament

The Owls beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 4-1, winning their first game of 2013 and advancing them further in Conference Cup Tournament.

It wasn’t an ideal start for Temple, as it fell behind 1-0 in the first half via a goal by Buckeyes freshman midfielder Paige Hamilton.

Temple managed to rebound pretty quickly however, thanks to a goal by junior midfielder Nicole Kroener just a couple minutes later.

The Owls broke the tie and pulled ahead in the second half.

Junior forward Amber Youtz created a turnover at midfield, then made a break for Ohio State’s net.  Youtz drove in to the left of Buckeyes senior goalkeeper Emma Voelker and got a pass over to freshman forward Katie Foran on the other side.

Foran put the ball in with a wide open net, giving her a goal in her first official game at the Division I level.

“I was so excited,” Foran said. ”We were tied 1-1, so it was a really close game. When I scored it was just great.”

And during the quick celebration, Foran didn’t wait and went right to Youtz, who provided the assist.

“It was a great pass from her,” Foran said. “I wouldn’t have got the goal unless she passed it over, so it was a great play by her.”

Foran’s goal would end up being the deciding one. The Owl’s defense and play in goal by redshirt junior Lizzy Millen kept Ohio State off the board for the rest of the game.

Youtz added a goal of her own later in the game, deflecting the ball into the net off a penalty corner shot by senior forward Lauren Hunt.

Then senior midfielder/defender Molly Doyle added one more insurance goal with less than a minute remaining. She took a shot on a penalty corner that made its way directly to the goal.

Temple started off their season on the right foot. Now they will be playing the University of Maryland for first place in the season-opening tournament on Sunday afternoon.

“We were so happy that we could get a win today over an excellent Ohio State team,” head coach Amanda Janney said. “To get a win over a Big 10 team puts us in the right direction.”

While the Owls got off to a good start with the win, they won’t have to wait long for their next challenge, as Maryland is a very talented team that reached the NCAA Final Four last season.

“We are excited, they’re obviously a very very good team,” graduate assistant coach Danica Deckard, who coached against her former team on Saturday, said. “We have to go out there, play with a lot of confidence and hope we can get the win.”

Nick Tricome can be reached at tue55707@temple.edu or on Twitter @itssnick215.