Owls fall to Bulls in season finale

Temple University men’s soccer (2-12-2, 0-10 The American Athletic Conference) fell to the University of South Florida (6-7-2, 4-5-1 The American) 3-1 at Corbett Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Friday night. 

The Bulls took advantage of a set piece to take the early lead. In the third minute, junior midfielder Henrique Gallina wrapped a corner kick around the outstretched arm of Owls’ senior goalkeeper Goodwill Agbaadem,  giving the Bulls a 1-0 lead.

The Owls evened the score in the 20th minute, when junior midfielder Andres Charles ripped a left footed kick past Bulls’ junior goalkeeper Kazuna Takase to tie the game at one.

Owls’ head coach Brian Rowland believes Charles’ goal got the team back into the game, Rowland said. 

“It was level and we could go obviously, for Chuck [Charles] to get a good goal,” Rowland added.“He’s not a guy that pops up on the scoresheet very often, but it was a good finish.”

The Bulls took the lead back in the 25th minute, when freshman forward Segun Afolabi deposited an assist from freshman winger Jeffery Cooper past Agbaadem, giving the Bulls a 2-1 advantage.

Rowland credited the Bulls for responding and reclaiming the lead.

“I think we had [Borger] and [O’Leary] at center back, he hasn’t really played much  left center back this year,” Rowland added. “I think that was their best chance, it was a good goal. I mean, the other two goals were the ones that were  preventable.”

The Owls’ mistakes continued on the defensive side in the 60th minute, when Gallina converted on a penalty kick for his second goal of the game putting the Bulls up 3-1.

After the match, Rowland was disappointed with the result for the seniors. Moving forward, he wants to make sure the team rights the ship in their honor next season, he said. 

“I think their senior season was not what they had hoped, but they have had really good seasons here,” Rowland added. “We’re not defined by one game or certainly a string of games and we understand that these guys are big contributors and the people in our program that have done some really big things in recent history.”