Owls win in double overtime

It wasn’t easy, but Tempe got it done.

It took two overtimes, but the No. 14 Owls pulled through with a 3-2 win against Longwood to improve to 6-2 on the season.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Alyssa Delp had two goals on Sunday afternoon, the one that started the scoring and the one that ended it.

Delp scored just under 18 minutes into the game, putting a pass from senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Mandi Shearer in the back of the cage to give Temple a 1-0 lead.

Then, in double overtime, with fatigue setting in for both teams, Delp picked up a rebound and put it by Longwood senior goalkeeper Kaye Goulding for the win.

“The biggest relief I feel like I’ve had in quite some time,” Delp said. “The first half was a little frustrating because they were on me really tight and just to end it so soon was just so relieving.”

Temple was trailing Longwood 2-1 by the end of the first half, with goals coming from senior forward Stacey de Grandhomme and sophomore forward Nicole Deckard.

But momentum shifted back in Temple’s favor when junior midfielder Nicole Kroener tied the game with 27 minutes left in the second half.

“For me it’s just redemption for myself because that second goal [Longwood] had was on me,” Kroener said. “It was important for me to try and set a tone for my team and know that I can respond.”

Kroener responded with the game-tying goal and the rest of the team followed, outshooting Longwood 14-3 in the second half.

The Owls just had a hard time putting anything in the net.

Even though Longwood walked away with the loss, Goulding had a great day in goal, making 10 saves and playing a big role in why the game took two overtimes to end.

“I think after [Kroener’s goal]  we had a ton of opportunities,” senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Molly Doyle said. “Credit to their goalie, she did an awesome job. She is very aggressive and we couldn’t quite find the back of the net, but we finally we did in overtime.”

“A win’s a win, we’ll take it,” Doyle added.

Temple won both games this weekend, beating Big East rival Villanova 4-1 on Friday night and now Longwood on Sunday.

However, the Owls had to play a majority of the second half against Longwood without their leading scorer in junior forward Amber Youtz, who was out with an injured right forearm.

Still, Temple was able to keep the offensive pressure on Longwood until the Lancers finally broke down.

“It was a crazy game,” Doyle said. “Credit to Longwood, they came out really really tough.”

“I don’t think we were quite ready for that,” Doyle added. “They had a lot of energy and I don’t think we quite matched it. We went into halftime down, but we really fought our way back and we haven’t always been able to do that. It was really nice to be able to fight back and take it into overtime.”

Nick Tricome can be reached at tue55707@temple.edu or on Twitter @itssnick215