Temple drops AAC opener 5-1 to Florida International

Temple Men’s Soccer (0-4-2, 0-1 American Athletic Conference) lost to Florida International (3-2-2, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) 5-1 Saturday at FIU Soccer Stadium in Miami.

The Owls are still searching for their first win under first-year head coach Bryan Green. Temple’s opponent got off to a hot start, but the Owls’ defense could not keep up.

KEY MOMENTS

• In his first start of the season, Temple goalkeeper Andrew Kempe made his presence known. In the 13th minute, FIU midfielder João Domíngues took the first shot on goal, and Kempe recorded the save at the bottom left of the net.
• FIU did not stay quiet for long. In the 18th minute, forward Eduadro Mustre used his left foot to put the ball in the bottom right of the net, giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
• From the 19th minute to the 35th minute, the two teams played physical, racking up a combined 10 fouls. FIU midfielder Julien Gastaldy also picked up a yellow card for unsporting behavior in the 30th minute.
• FIU midfielder Matthias Lavenant extended the lead to 2-0 in the 37th minute with a right-footed shot to the bottom right of the net. The Panthers went into halftime with a commanding lead.
• The physical play did not stop FIU as forward Bernardo Dos Santos Monteiro hit the top right of the net to extend the Panthers’ lead to 3-0 in the 61st minute.
• FIU added their final two goals on scores by forward Afrira and midfielder Felix Ewald in the back half of the second period, giving the Panthers a commanding 5-0 lead.
• Temple was able to leave the pitch with a goal when forward Lucas Hitters scored the first college goal of his career to cut the Panthers’ lead to 5-1 in the 87th minute.

THE NUMBERS

• This was the Owls’ third straight game facing at least a two-goal deficit heading into halftime, going to the half down 4-1 against St. John’s and 3-0 against American in their previous two games.
• Temple, like every other game so far this season, lost the first half shot battle 10-2.
• In his second start this season Saturday, Temple forward Xavier Rimpel generated the most shots from a single player for the Owls with two shots and one on-goal. In his other start this season, Rimpel was also an important part of the offense, finishing with a shot and an assist in a 3-1 loss to Saint Joseph’s.
• Temple has lost four straight games this season. The Owls have also lost four straight AAC games, as their last win in conference play was Oct. 14, 2022, against Florida Atlantic.

ON TAP

Temple will look to end its losing streak and pick up its first win of the season when they return to Philadelphia to take on City 6 rival Drexel (3-1-2, 1-1-1 Coastal Athletic Association) at Vidas Field on Sept. 19 at 6 p.m.