Thirty minutes into yesterday’s match, Temple women’s soccer knew the University of Maryland’s offense was too much to handle after Terrapins’ senior midfielder Loren Sefcik got around Owls’ freshman midfielder Moa Andersson to take a shot from behind the penalty box.
The Owls (0-1, 0-0 The American Athletic Conference) opened their season with a 3-0 loss against the University of Maryland (1-0, 0-0 The Big Ten Conference) in College Park on Thursday night.
After falling behind in the 29th minute into the match, the Owls struggled to mount any offensive pressure against the Terrapins’ defense, who did not allow a single shot on goal during the game.
“We had a lot of possession in the first half, I thought we controlled a lot,” said head coach Nick Bochette. “We weren’t good in the final third but we did generate chances in the box that I think if we have again we score so I think it looks more lopsided than it is.”
Temple generated shot opportunities throughout the game, but the Terrapins’ defenders stopped them every time they reached the final third of the field.
Sophomore midfielder Carly Steinberg attempted a shot at the 22nd minute when she had a clean look at the net but missed out left.
Senior forward Emily Kavanaugh had a shot in the 51st minute, but the ball glided into Maryland’s defensive end after a corner kick and Kavanaugh ended up shooting it off the crossbar.
Temple’s final opportunity came at the 87th minute when Steinberg took her second shot of the game, but this time she missed high left.
The Terrapins scored their second goal three minutes after their first when Alyssa Poarch scored from inside the penalty box.
Terrapins’ senior forward Emily McNesby notched the Terrapins’ final goal of the night on a shot about 15 feet behind the penalty box. Owls senior goalkeeper Kamryn Stablein played up, which allowed the ball to sail over her head and into the net.
“I think we fatigued toward the end of the game,” Bochette said. “Maryland is very athletic and has a lot of players who are capable of making something happen out of nothing and after dealing with that for 35 or 40 minutes in the first half it took a toll.”
Temple’s last game was five months ago, which ended in a 3-0 loss against the University of Houston and squashed their chances of qualifying for the American Athletic Conference tournament.
“What’s the old saying? Be a goldfish, have a real short memory,” Bochette said. “Win or lose, every game is a learning experience. When you lose you have to take a real hard look at what we did well and what we can improve upon and at this point in the season learning is everything.”
Temple’s next game is on the road against Rutgers University (1-0, 0-0 The Big Ten Conference) on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.
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