In their second American Athletic Conference game of the season, the Owls lost to the Southern Methodist Mustangs 1-0 on Sunday afternoon at the Ambler Sports Complex.
“There’s not much I can ask the girls to do better,” coach Seamus O’Connor said. “SMU played really well. They’re one of the highest scoring offenses in the country and I think we did a really good job of eliminating that.”
Following the home defeat by SMU (6-4,1-1), Temple (6-4-1,1-1) has now lost four of its six games hosted at Ambler. The Owls have also been shutout four times this year with a losing margin of one goal.
“A loss is a loss to me whether it is one goal or five goals,” O’Connor said.
The Mustangs held a large shot advantage in the game against the Owls, recording 15 shots, with seven on goal, compared to Temple’s three shots. None of the Owls’ three shots were on goal.
SMU’s freshman forward Kelsey Gorney recorded the game’s lone goal. Gorney’s goal was assisted by junior midfielder Rikki Clarke and senior defender Courtney Smith.
Sophomore goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff recorded six saves in the loss. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Lauren Bodden recorded the shutout victory without recording a save.
Neither team could find the net after 45 minutes of playing time which resulted in a scoreless first half, but the Mustang would strike early in the second. Gorney found herself on the receiving end of a Smith cross to put SMU ahead 1-0 in the 52nd minute.
“[Smith] put the cross in an awful place for our defense,” O’Connor said. “It just showed the quality of the conference. That one goal just showed it.”
In the second period, the Owls were shutout in terms of shot attempts, failing to record a shot, and allowing the Mustangs to keep the ball away from their own goal for the majority of the second half.
Brien Edwards can be reached at brien.erick.edwards@temple.edu or on Twitter @BErick1123.
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