Temple Men’s Soccer was firing on all cylinders to begin its season, finding the back of the net four times in their first two games. The Owls entered their matchup with American Monday night looking to regain the same spark after going scoreless in their loss to Monmouth on Aug. 29.
The Owls are still searching for that same offensive production after another lackluster match from their attack. Following 89 scoreless minutes, Temple had a chance to escape with a victory on a throw-in but fared unsuccessful as the game came to a close.
Temple (1-1-2, 0-0-0 American Athletic Conference) drew with American (0-2-2, 0-0-0 Patriot League) 0-0 at the Maryland Sports Complex Monday night. The Owls finished the game with 18 fouls, the most they’ve had in a game since Sept. 2, 2022 against Georgetown.
“The referee called every single touch out there, we were not physical,” said Temple head coach Bryan Green. “It looked like a field hockey game out there.”
The Owls defense was hard-hitting in the first half, as defenseman Nikolai Zapolskikh picked up a yellow card in the 18th minute. Their aggression continued but resulted in 10 fouls in the first half alone, six more than they had all of last match.
Temple’s offense was nonexistent in the first half, coming up with just one shot attempt. The opportunity nearly resulted in an opening goal just 15 minutes in. Zapolskikh put a shot home but it was reversed after he was called offside and the match remained scoreless.
Temple’s goalkeeper Andrew Kempe was the lone bright spot for the Owls. He faced five shots in the first half, with four being on goal, reeling in each one to keep the game scoreless. The goalkeeper finished with five saves and kept Temple in the game while the offense sputtered.
“[Kempe] managed his box well,” Green said. “He had a couple of plays that did not come up as saves, some punches and deflections.”
Temple came out of the second half equally aggressive which resulted in two quick fouls. Midfielder Edgar Bazan joined Zapolskikh with a yellow card after picking one up just two minutes into the second half.
Temple’s offense found some resemblance of life with three second-half shots, but none found their way on goal. The Owls finished the match with just four shots and only one on target.
“We played too slow and our guys were not sharp on the ball,” Green said. “The decision-making took too long and we had very few productive attacks.”
American refused to go down quietly and had a chance to record its first win of the season with three minutes left. The Eagles had a corner kick and sent it toward the box, but midfielder Elliot Rigbert headed the ball out to eliminate the danger.
“It was a solid team effort,” Green said. “Our defenders were good and the whole team defended well tonight.”
Temple returns to Philadelphia for its next match to play City 6 rival Penn (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Ivy League) on Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
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