Temple started slow offensively in its game against University of Maryland, Baltimore County. The Owls quickly fell in a two-goal deficit but notched up their attack and went into the third quarter tied.
Temple continued its momentum and took its first lead of the day to start the third quarter. The Owls once again broke a tie to start the final 15 minutes but could not score again while the Retrievers added three more goals.
UMBC sent off 45 shots in the game with 29 of them finding the target but Temple goalkeeper Taylor Grollman was there to stop the game from turning into a blowout. Grollman stood strong in the goal, making a career-high 18 saves.
Temple (1-4, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) lost to UMBC (6-0 0-0 American East Conference) 11-9 Saturday afternoon at Howarth Field. The Owls have allowed double digit goals in all five games this season.
“Our defenders are learning how to play different styles of attackers and different styles of attack,” said head coach Bonnie Rosen. “This is just a part of our learning. UMBC attacked us hard. Our players were doing well and we’re just a step behind on everything, so we have to get a little bit better with our skill and a little bit better with our IQ.”
UMBC was looking to protect its perfect record and started its offensive attack immediately by sending off a shot just 30 seconds into the matchup. However, Grollman was there to stop the attempt. The Retrievers didn’t let off the gas and midfielder Katana Nelson sent a bullet to the back of the net to take an early 1-0 lead.
Grollman was put to work and made three more saves before Nelson bested her again. UMBC was given a man-up opportunity and Nelson took advantage, finding the goal once again to take a two-goal lead with less than seven minutes left in the first quarter.
The Owls were without their main source of offense in attacker Amelia Wright and it showed for the first 10 minutes. Temple only sent off two shots, with one coming from a free position shot before the Owls found the net.
Temple cleared the ball and midfielder Emily Liberio recorded a goal to put her team on the scoreboard. The Owls couldn’t find a groove on offense though as UMBC defender Ella Killian was making it hard for them. In back-to-back draw controls, Temple rushed to grab the ball but Killian used her speed to sneak in front and gain control of the ball.
The Retrievers scored again but Owls’ midfielder Sabrina Martin made sure the game didn’t get too far out of reach. She found the back of the net with less than a minute left in the opening quarter and followed it up with the first goal of the second quarter to tie the game at three apiece.
Both teams were fighting for the rest of the quarter on both sides of the field. UMBC pulled out to another two goal lead but Temple tied the game again at six behind two goals from Liberio. The Owls tried to take a lead entering halftime but midfielder Lily Caravela’s shot was saved by goalkeeper Isabella Fontana.
“Emily Liberio really helped kind of set the tone that she was going to be able to be a force to be stopped,” Rosen said. “That really helps putting the goals in and drawing that attention.”
Liberio found midfielder Erin King to give Temple its first lead of the game at 7-6 to start the third quarter. The Owls tried to build on their advantage but couldn’t despite having back-to-back free position attempts. Temple was able to clinch one more goal before the third quarter came to an end but it was sandwiched between two UMBC goals to tie the game at eight.
The Owls were once again the team to start the scoring in the quarter but King’s goal two minutes in was the last Temple goal, and the Retrievers took little time to tie the game at nine. The Owls stayed strong on defense but turned the ball over and it went downhill from there.
UMBC cleared the ball and was fouled to take a free position shot, which it converted on to take a 10-9 lead with seven minutes left in the game. The Retrievers added one more goal for good measure with a minute-and-a-half remaining to take the 11-9 win.
“I think we just need more communication,” Grollman said. “Especially from the top down, we’re pretty solid around the crease, but we kind of lose that communication up top and then once you get beat from that top side, there’s not much you can do about it.”
UMBC was given seven free position shots while Temple only had two. The Owls couldn’t score off the attempts but the Retrieves added three goals from it with attacker Emily Knapp going 2-5.
Temple will travel to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to face the University of North Carolina (5-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) on March 4 at 5 p.m.
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