Through the first half of Temple’s game against Providence Friday, both teams were dead even. The Owls were constantly firing off shots at goalkeeper Asia Porter but were turned away each time. Despite getting 10 shots off in the first 30 minutes, both teams went into the half tied at zero.
The Owls came out of the locker room looking to get one of its attempts to find the back of the net, but the offense went silent. The Friars outshot them in the third quarter but a penalty corner with two minutes left in the quarter looked to be the break Temple needed.
Forward Mathéa Lassalle, the Owls’ leader in assists, found herself on the receiving end of a pass from back Alizé Maes. Lassale fired a shot home that Porter was unable to reach to give Temple the lead heading to the fourth quarter. It was the only goal of the game and it helped propel the Owls to its sixth straight victory.
No. 20 Temple (8-4, 3-1 Big East Conference) prevailed against Providence (5-8-0, 1-3 Big East Conference) 1-0 at the Temple Sports Complex. The six-game win streak is the longest win streak Temple has had since 2007.
“I think today, in the first half, we were definitely in a rhythm, creating a lot of opportunities,” said head coach Michelle Vitesse. “The ball was in their attacking half for the majority of the time, but in quarter three and four, we had a tendency to give them the ball a little bit more, allowing them a little more opportunities.”
Temple instantly went on the attack, sparked by midfielder Tess Muller. She fired two shots out of the gate but they were denied by Porter. The Friar keeper entered the day third in the conference in saves with 46 and single-handedly kept her team in the game while the offense found its form.
Temple never relented the pressure, and midfielder Halle Aschenbach took a crack at getting past Porter but was unsuccessful. The aggression continued into the second quarter with midfielders Agustina Tucceri and Marsha Ariesen’s shots both being turned away by Providence.
The Owls lived in Providence’s side of the field the entire first half with 10 shots, five on target, and three corners. Temple’s defense was impenetrable in the first half as goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale did not face any shots.
“I definitely have to give that to my team,” Ospitale said. “Keeping Providence outside of our circle, not letting them get any shots off, not letting them come even close to us.”
Providence finally managed to break into Temple’s defense five minutes into the second half. Midfielder Cami Crook sent the Friars first shot at Ospitale, but the two-time defensive player of the week made the stop.
The Friars continued to pressure the Owls’ defense and earned a penalty corner seven minutes into the third quarter. Ospitale was able to snuff out the shot to keep the game tied. Providence looked to turn a corner and sent four shots towards the cage but none found a way past Ospitale.
Temple’s offense responded to the Providence attack and finally got the best of Porter. The Owls earned a penalty corner late in the third quarter and Maes sent a pass to Lassalle who found the back of the net and gave Temple the lead.
“I was really happy to score the goal, but it is really important to keep going,” Lassalle said. “We have to keep going and stay composed until the end.”
Entering the fourth quarter with a one-goal lead, the Owls defense turned up the heat and didn’t allow Providence to get any chances of a tie for the first 14 minutes of the final frame. With a minute left, the Friars threw everything they had at the Temple defense.
Providence pulled Porter for an extra field player to get an advantage, which almost helped them tie the game. In the final 60 seconds, Providence earned three penalty corners and fired off four shots, but Ospitale was there time and time again to crush their hopes for overtime.
After a quiet first half for Ospitale, she once again showed her value in the second half. Ospitale made three critical second-half saves, highlighted by the one as time expired to maintain Temple’s one-goal lead and push them to a win.
The Owls will remain home for their next game against Georgetown (3-8-0, 1-3-0 Big East Conference) on Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.
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