Owls fall to Cardinals

Temple lost to  Louisville  3-1 on Thursday afternoon at the Ambler Sports Complex.

Temple (6-8-1,1-5) continues to struggle within the American Athletic Conference, losing its fifth consecutive game and it has allowed three or more goals three times in that span. Previous to their conference schedule, the Owls had surrendered more than one goal once. With the victory, Louisville (10-4-1,6-1) added to its conference leading record.

“It’s kind of the same thing we’ve been facing,” coach Seamus O’Connor said. “Getting beat up every game and the effort we’re having to put in every game is starting to show in some of the players [physically]. This league is unforgiving. We thought Louisville might have a let down. Not take us too serious [but] they brought it from the first minute on.”

The Cardinals held a strong offensive advantage throughout the game. Louisville recorded 26 shots and 11 shots on goal, while Temple registered six shots and one on goal. Eight Cardinals players registered at least one shot. Temple’s six shots were distributed by three players.

Freshman midfielder Elaine Byerley scored Temple’s lone goal of the day and sophomore Erin Lafferty recorded an assist on the goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff registered eight saves on the day.

For Louisville, sophomore forward Shannon Dennehey, junior midfielder Erin Yenney and sophomore midfielder Nicole Gerber each netted one goal. Freshman goalkeeper Paige Brown did not record a save on the day, but added a win to her season record.

The Cardinals took an early advantage in the fourth minute when Yenney’s shot found the left corner of the net, giving Louisville a 1-0 . In the 12th minute, Dennehey scored Louisville’s second goal of the afternoon on a header which made the Cardinals lead 2-0. Less than three minutes before the first period ended, the Cardinals found the back of the net for the third time when Gerber received a cross for the score.

The halftime score was 3-0 in favor of Louisville.

In the 50th minute, a Louisville foul awarded Lafferty with a free kick. The kick was initially deflected by Brown but Byerley scored off of the deflection, ending the Cardinals’ unanswered scoring run.

The scoring ended for Louisville in the second period, but its first half scoring created enough distance from Temple. Unable hold possession and find the net late in the second half, the Owls could not mount a comeback.

“We just need to make that step up where we go at these teams from the start and just give them our best game from the start as opposed to just waiting until it’s too late,” O’Connor said.

Brien Edwards can be reached at brien.erick.edwards@temple.edu or on Twitter @BErick1123.