Temple Field Hockey (3-2, 0-0 Big East Conference) took down Long Island (0-4, 0-0 Northeast Conference) 1-0 Thursday afternoon at Howarth Field.
After getting shut out against Yale 1-0 and No. 6 Virginia 6-0 last weekend, Temple was able to get back on the board against LIU. Forward Maddie Molchany tipped in a rocket off the stick of midfielder Alizé Maes midway through the third quarter for Molchany’s first goal of the year.
Goalkeeper Molly Frey bounced back following her rough outing against Virginia where she allowed six goals and made just one save. Today, she made four saves while not allowing a goal for her first shutout this season. Frey’s performance anchored a strong Temple defense, as the Owls gave up only six shots and three penalty corners.
Frey, who allowed the most goals in her collegiate career against the Cavaliers, said the bounce back performance was important after a mentally draining week.
“It was one of the most challenging things I’ve ever done, trying to bounce back from the most goals I’ve ever allowed,” Frey said. “Our coaches basically sat down with me and were telling me that I was a good goalie and reflecting that those goals against UVA don’t define me or who I am as a goalie.”
While Temple only scored once, the team had many more opportunities throughout the game.
Temple fired off a season-high 18 shots, including eight shots on goal. The Owls also had a season-high 15 penalty corners, putting constant pressure on the LIU defense. Sharks’ goalkeeper Fleur Hofman held her own against the Owls’ attack, making seven saves.
“We played with the mindset of, ‘Okay we are getting another chance,’ instead of taking ownership and accountability of our jobs and making sure that we were more desperate than them,” said Temple head coach Michelle Vittese. “We just have to make the changes on the front end.”
The Owls had a much stronger second half. Fourteen of their 18 shots and 10 of their 15 penalty corners happened after halftime. On multiple occasions Temple had three consecutive corner penalties, and only one of those occasions yielded a goal.
“Second half was much better for us and we were playing to the game plan,” Vittese said. “We played around them instead of through them and we kept things simple and clean.”
The Owls will look to keep the momentum going when they play their first road game of the year against James Madison (2-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m.
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