Owls fall to Leopards in disappointing outing

Temple University’s men’s soccer fell to Lafayette University 3-1 in a disappointing outing at the Temple Sports Complex.

Mike Eijgendaal, senior forward forward, runs down the field with the ball during an Owls’ game against the University of Memphis on Sept. 29, 2021. | NOEL CHACKO / THE TEMPLE NEWS

Temple University men’s soccer (1-1-2, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) stepped back onto the Temple Sports Complex pitch and fell to the Lafayette Leopards (3-1-0, 0-0 Patriot League) who are on a four-game winning streak. 

Starting off the match, Temple controlled the ball well, moving it down the field efficiently which led to multiple balls in the box but nothing significant enough to warrant an opportunity.

Temple senior forward Yann Kouemi did manage to take a shot in the 8th minute, but the ball went left. Lafayette responded with an opportunity in the 10th minute on a free kick, but it also ultimately led to a missed shot.

The match continued with brief glimpses of opportunities for the two teams, but attempts were stopped by strong defensive play. A yellow card was given to Leopards senior midfielder Yiannis Panayides in the 20th minute.

A perfect opportunity came in the 23rd minute when Owls freshman midfielder Draven Barnett moved the ball down the left wing before delivering a ball to senior forward Mike Eijgendaal in the box, but Eijgendaal couldn’t get a foot on it to manage a shot.

Lafayette moved down the field and junior forward Hale Lombard attempted a shot on goal that was saved over the bar by Owls’ freshman goalkeeper Micah Ramirez in the 30th minute.

After a couple of minutes, the Owls would be back on the offensive and score the first goal of the game in the 33rd minute as fifth-year midfielder Fabian Grant scored off an assist from Eijgendaal. Eijgendaal continued his streak of either assisting or scoring every goal the Owls have scored this season.

“[Eijgendaal] is a guy that is producing a lot for us,” said Owls head coach Brian Rowland. “You ride the momentum and the hot hand when you can.”

The Owls would then manage to head back down into the attacking third and generate multiple chances including a goal that was overturned after the officials went to video assistance referee.

Immediately after, the Leopards went down the field and tied the match up in the 38th minute with a goal by senior forward Marcos Kitromilides after a deflection off an Owls defender.

Three minutes later, Kitromilides would find the back of the net again in the 41st minute to put the Leopards up 2-1 heading into the half. 

The Leopards added a third goal when sophomore midfielder Jack Borden found sophomore forward Lawrence Aydlett to put the game further out of reach.

“I think that we are a very talented team that’s 95 percent of the way where we need to be,” said Owls graduate student defender Elyad Shojaei. “We need that five percent of discipline and killer instinct.”

Temple will look to rebound against Saint Peter’s University (0-2-1 0-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic) on Sept. 13 at the Temple Sports Complex.

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