In the 93rd minute, Temple University sophomore forward Mike Eijgendaal scored a game-winning goal off a deflection in the box to beat Southern Methodist University freshman goalkeeper Cole Johnson.
“We deserved this win,” Eijgendaal said. “I was just fortunate to make the winning goal.”
Temple men’s soccer (5-4-1, 5-4-1 The American Athletic Conference) defeated Southern Methodist (5-5-0, 5-5-0 The American) 2-1 in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday night.
The Owls have now won three consecutive games heading into postseason play and have outscored their opponents 9-4 in those games.
Owls redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Eoin Gawronski set a career high with eight saves against the Mustangs’ attack.
“He made some big saves early on that kept us in the game,” said head coach Brian Rowland. “We needed him to be big and he was.”
The scoring began in the 85th minute when Owls sophomore midfielder Amir Cohen knocked in a penalty kick after a foul by the Mustangs to put Temple up 1-0.
Less than three minutes later in the 87th minute, Mustangs junior midfielder Skage Simonsen ran through contact in the box and pushed the ball past Gawronski to tie the game up at 1-1.
Rowland was given a yellow card and a red card for voicing his frustration to the referees about a missed call and was ejected from the game.
“I was trying to voice my concern that the ref was ready to make the call,” Rowland said. “Certainly didn’t feel like that was something necessary for him to do.”
The game remained tied after overtime, but three minutes into the overtime period, Eijgendaal netted the game winner. It was Eijgendaal’s fourth goal of the season.
“We didn’t play our best in the first half,” Rowland said. “I think we just kinda woke up and we played more like what we are capable of.”
Temple will look to carry their hot play into The American Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals, where they’ll take on Tulsa (6-3-1, 6-3-1 The American) in Orlando, Florida, on April 15 at 4 p.m.
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