Heading into Temple’s game against Villanova, the Owls had a chance to punch its ticket to a fifth consecutive Big East tournament. All they needed to do was get past a Wildcat squad on the heels of two straight losses.
Sixty minutes later, Temple is still searching for the clinching win while being handed a two-game losing streak of its own.
Neither Big Five rival could find any sort of offensive momentum until the final two minutes of the first half. The Owls sent a barrage of shots, but none of them made it on the scoreboard as the two teams had four combined shots and no goals at the break.
Both teams were looking for the second-half spark to push themselves to a victory, and it was Villanova who seized it. The Wildcats earned a penalty corner four minutes into the third quarter and had a chance to take the lead. Temple goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale made the initial save but midfielder Ava Borkowski gathered the rebound and put it past the two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Week.
Borkowski wasn’t finished and added two more goals to earn a hat trick and put the game out of reach. The Owls had no answers despite a handful of chances and were left in the dust in the loss.
Temple (9-6, 4-2 Big East Conference) fell to Villanova (8-7, 3-3 Big East) 3-0 Friday afternoon at Proving Grounds Field. The three goals the Owls gave up is the first time they have allowed more than two goals since Sept. 13 in a 3-1 defeat to Penn.
“I think [Villanova] played well and they did what they had to do and we didn’t,” said back Alizé Maes. “I think we just started going downhill in the second half. It was a lack of belief in our abilities. A lack of belief that we can win, belief in that we could be better than other teams, a lack of intent, a lack of want to win. We don’t run for the ball. We don’t want the ball. We don’t fight back for the ball when we lose it. That’s where they beat us.”
The Owls opened their loss against Lafayette on Oct. 20 slow offensively and their game against Villanova was the exact same. Temple struggled to find its footing and failed to record a single-shot attempt in the first quarter.
The sluggish offensive start continued in the second quarter and the Owls’ first offensive opportunities did not come until there were two minutes left in the first half. Temple fired off four shots and earned three straight penalty corners, but everything was blocked by the Villanova defense.
The defense stepped up its play while the offense spent the first half trying to get its engine started. Temple’s defense suffocated the Wildcats during the first 30 minutes, not allowing a single shot attempt. Villanova had only had one penalty corner opportunity, which Temple easily disposed of.
“What we try as a defense and as a team is just to stay together and we keep communicating,” Maes said. You defend the circle like it’s your life. And I think we did that really well in the first half, and we didn’t really let them get there.”
The Wildcats offense came out in the second half and earned a penalty corner just four minutes in. Ospitale made the initial save on the attempt but the ball rolled to Borkowski who had a clean look at the net and gave Villanova the one-goal lead.
Five minutes later, Borkowski struck again. She dribbled into the circle and found a sliver of space to fire off a shot. Ospitale could not stop the ball and Villanova doubled its lead in a matter of moments. The Owls had no response despite racking up five shots and four penalty corners in the third quarter.
Borkowski put the final nail in the Owls’ coffin with five minutes left in the game. She bested Ospitale for the third time, the most goals she has allowed all season. Temple had multiple penalty corners following the goal, hoping to make a comeback but they were unable to convert any.
Temple finished the game outshooting Villanova 12-8 and earned more penalty corners by a margin of 10-3. Despite the difference in the stat sheet, it was the Owls who were blanked by Villanova who only sent eight shots Ospitale’s way pulling out the win.
“I can definitely give a lot of credit to their DPC, they were very brave,” Maes said. “They were good at accepting a lot of balls. So congrats to them. I think on our side we’re just a little intense. If we see it’s not gonna go in we’re still trying to go through their stick, and we’re just making them look even better than they are.”
The Owls will play their final road game of the season as they travel to take on Yale (9-4, 3-2 Ivy League) on Oct. 27 at noon.
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