In the 21st minute of Temple Men’s Soccer’s game against first-place Memphis Saturday night, it looked like the Owls were off to another bad start. Memphis had earned a penalty kick and was aiming to take the lead against a Temple team that has struggled to generate offense for the last month.
Memphis midfielder Giorgis Kondylis set up for the kick and sent the ball towards the bottom right corner of the net, looking to get the ball by Temple goalkeeper Andrew Kempe.
However, Kempe predicted the shot perfectly, diving to his right and deflecting the attempt away, keeping the match tied at zero. Kempe’s save set the tone for the rest of the game, as the Owls defense kept the high-octane Memphis attack off the scoreboard and came away with a scoreless draw.
Temple (2-6-4, 0-2-2 American Athletic Conference) drew with Memphis (6-4-2, 3-0-1 AAC) 0-0 Saturday night at the Temple Sports Complex. This is the eighth time Temple has failed to find the back of the net this season, and the second time they have had a 0-0 tie.
“We could only sustain so much of what they were bringing because they are a tough team,” said head coach Bryan Green. “Probably the most exhausting team to play in the league.”
The Tigers came out of the gate and immediately put pressure on the Temple defense, earning a corner kick in the first minute. Kempe was put to work right away, but stood his ground and stopped the early shot attempt from Memphis defender Jackson Kim. The 25th minute saw Kim challenge Kempe for the second time. Once again Kempe denied Kim, making a sliding effort to prevent the ball from finding the back of the net.
Memphis continued to keep the Owls’ defense on its heels, earning eight first-half corner kicks compared to Temple’s three. The Owls’ defense bent but did not break and despite the disparity in offensive chances held Memphis off the scoreboard in the first half. Kempe recorded three saves in the first 45 minutes, including the crucial penalty save to keep Temple in the game.
“They were in our end the whole time, but I don’t think Kempe was called upon because our back line did a great job,” Green said. “Our midfield as well, cleaning up those (loose balls).”
The only offense Temple managed to generate in the first half came in the final five minutes when forward Nathan Brown fired off the only shot the Owls had to that point. However, he missed his target and Temple went to the locker room scoreless once again.
Once the second half kicked off, the look of desperation in Temple’s eyes to find a goal was evident. In the 48th minute, forward Elliot Rigbert looked to get Temple on the board and sent a shot at Memphis goalkeeper Filip Sabatti, who easily made his first save of the night. Sabatti ended the night with four saves, all coming in the second half.
Defender Paolo Kampula joined Rigbert in the Temple attack with a shot of his own in the 56th minute, but Temple’s second shot of the half would replicate the first, ending in a stop by Sabatti.
The Owls’ offense got their best look of the night in the 73rd minute. Midfielder Edgar Bazan drew Sabatti out of position and had a clear look at the net to break the deadlock. However, Sabatti managed to dive back into position and stop the shot, keeping the match scoreless.
Midfielder Elias Betancourt attempted to follow up the ricochet, but to no avail, as it sailed left of the goal, ending Temple’s best offensive opportunity. Midfielder Jayden Jackson and Bazan were denied on shots in the 76th and 77th minutes, but Temple continued to be aggressive until the final whistle.
In a last-ditch effort to get points on the board, Rigbert sent off two more shots in the final nine minutes of the game. The first was denied by Sabatti and the second was off-target, ending the Owls’ hopes of finding the net and pulling out a win.
After only getting one shot off in the first half, Temple’s offense had nine second-half shots, but none could get by Sabatti. Memphis had six more shots in the second half, none of which were a threat to Kempe who did not make a save in the second half. The Tigers ended with 13 total shots compared to the Owls’ 10.
“Memphis was giving us really difficult pressure and it was hard to work through it,” Green said. “We decided not to mess around in our half, play more in their half, and it led to some good things.”
Temple will be back at the Temple Sports Complex to face off against Mercyhurst (6-5, 3-0 Northeast Conference) on Oct. 15th at 5 p.m.
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