Owls survive a costly red card, tie with Blazers

Temple Men’s Soccer (4-8-3, 1-6-1 American Athletic Conference) tied with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (3-8-4, 1-4-3 The American) 1-1 in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday night. It was the Owls’ first tie in the conference this season. The Owls remained competitive by playing with only 10 men in the last 25 minutes of the match due to a red card.

KEY PLAYS

• In the 10th minute, Temple freshman defender Sawyer Koza attempted his first shot of the night inside the box. The shot was deflected by a Blazer defender and UAB graduate goalkeeper Jack Hudson made the save with the tip of his finger to negate a potential Owls lead early on. 
• In the 19th minute, Temple freshman midfielder Draven Barnett was called for an aggressive foul and earned a yellow card. UAB graduate forward Nathaniel St. Louis had the free kick opportunity eight yards outside the box, but was kicked out of the box by an Owls’ defender. 
• In the 36th minute, UAB sophomore midfielder Caleb Nicotri came off the bench and immediately broke the tie by capitalizing on a crossing pass from St. Louis inside the box to give the Blazers the 1-0 lead. 
• In the 49th minute, Owls graduate defenseman Fridtjof Andberg tied the game off an Owls’ corner kick that was tipped around the front of the net, Andberg was able to find the ball in the air and even the match. 
• In the 58th minute, Owls’ senior forward Mike Eijgendaal fired off a shot from the top of the box, and Hudson made a diving save along the line to keep the game tied at 1-1.  
• In the 63rd minute, Owls’ graduate defenseman Elyad Shojaei was called for a rough tackle and received a red card, forcing the Owls’ to play with 10 men for the rest of the match. 
• In the 69th minute, Eijgendaal dribbled through the UAB defense to set up another scoring opportunity for himself, but Hudson met him again in the front of the net to deny another potential goal for the Owls’ forward. 
• In the 89th minute, Owls’ redshirt junior goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski preserved the tie, as he made a late save inside the box from a shot by UAB graduate forward Brooks Rice. 

THE NUMBERS

• Andberg recorded his first goal of the year. He finished with two shots in the match. 
• The Owls recorded their sixth red card of the season. 
• UAB recorded eight total shots with two shots on goal, while Temple recorded 17 shots with only four coming on goal. 
• Gawronski finished with two saves in the match, while Hudson recorded three saves in the contest.