Temple University men’s soccer (2-5-2, 0-4-0 The American Athletic Conference) ended its five-game losing streak on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory against Princeton University (4-5, 1-0 Ivy League) at the Temple Sports Complex.
Temple had not lost five consecutive games in a season since 2014, when they lost seven straight to end the year.
Transfer junior forward Chaim Roserie scored the first goal in the 50th minute on a shot that rocketed into the top corner of the net past Tigers’ senior goalkeeper Jack Roberts.
“It was a great goal,” Roserie said. “Honestly I’m speechless, it happened so quick but I’m very proud of the boys. We’re a very talented team.”
In the 78th minute, Owls’ junior midfielder Jalen Campbell scored a breakaway goal on a curling shot that nestled into the bottom right corner of the net past the outstretched arms of Roberts.
“Yeah I think the chemistry was just there before, it’s a good dynamic duo,” Roserie said. “Everybody played their part, we all worked hard, I think we were just very desperate for the win but altogether we worked as a team, obviously the offensive clicks came together at the end.”
Prior to this match, the Tigers defeated Dartmouth College (1-7, 0-1 Ivy League) 3-2 on the road.
“Princeton’s a quality opponent, so we knew we were going to be in for a fight, a challenge,” said head coach Brian Rowland. “I’m happy for the guys, they’ve been through it, to get them to feel some joy and some relief, we have a really good team.”
Owls’ sophomore goalkeeper Liam Cummings recorded eight saves in the victory and registered his first collegiate shutout.
“I think this is Liam’s best game,” Rowland said. “There’s a learning curve that goes with it and he’s gaining experience, the team’s gaining confidence so I thought he made a couple really big saves at the end of the game, and he did his job.”
Temple was efficient in its offensive chances, notching eight total shots and four shots on goal. The Owls scored for the first time since Sept. 24 in their 4-1 loss to the University of Central Florida (5-4, 3-1 The American).
“We need goals to win games, and some guys stepped up,” Rowland said. “I was happy with more of the output, the way we played, the possession that we had, so all in all I was happy with the performance.”
Temple will next face the University of South Florida (2-6-1, 0-4-0 The American) on Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. at the Temple Sports Complex.
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