Temple lost its fifth straight game, falling to Southern Methodist 2-1 in Dallas on Sunday.
The Owls are 3-11 overall and 0-4 against American Athletic Conference opponents.
It’s Seamus O’Connor’s worst start since he became coach of the Owls in 2013.
“Overall, we just competed all over the field,” O’Connor said. “I was pleased with how they played. I think those are the real positives I took out of it. That these girls kept competing to the last second, we were still on the attack when the buzzer went off.”
After a scoreless first half, Southern Methodist got ahead early in the second half.
Freshman midfielder Allie Thornton and junior midfielder Claire Oates each knocked in goals to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead by the 63:10 minute mark.
Thornton and Oates are two of the top three leaders in goals for the Mustangs.
Redshirt-junior forward Kayla Cunningham responded after going down 2-0 by scoring her second goal of the season to make the score 2-1 at the 64:34 minute mark.
“SMU is a very, very good team and I think the first half was just both teams figuring out what was happening,” O’Connor said.
He added even though Southern Methodist had nine shots in the first half, they were from a far distance where sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Nash could make an easy save.
Nash faced nine shots on goal and had seven saves, while sophomore goalkeeper Catie Brown faced two shots and had one save.
Despite going 0-2 on their road trip to Texas, O’Connor said he saw his team display growth.
“So overall, I’m disappointed with the trip because I always expect to win because we’re Temple,” O’Connor said. “But, I’m proud that the ladies continue to show up and battle each game.”
The Owls will continue conference play against South Florida on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. at the Temple Sports Complex.
Tom Ignudo can be reached at thomas.ignudo@temple.edu or on Twitter @Ignudo5.
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