Temple Women’s Soccer approached a cross-town matchup against Villanova with a sense of optimism. The Owls showed promise in their first game under head coach Chris Shaw, holding off Coastal Athletic Association favorite Monmouth until the waning minutes of Thursday night’s contest.
It didn’t take long for the confidence to be smashed Sunday afternoon after Wildcats’ forward Madison Shumate found the back of the net just 12 minutes into the game. The goal sparked the beginning of the Wildcats’ barrage on Temple goalkeeper Tamsin Bynoe.
The early onslaught continued two minutes later when Shumate cut in on her right and fired a curling ball into the top right corner for her second goal. Just 14 minutes into the contest, Villanova had the upper hand and never looked back.
Temple (0-2, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) lost to Villanova (1-1, 0-0 Big East Conference) 4-0 Sunday afternoon at the Higgins Soccer Complex. This now marks 10 straight games the Owls have failed to score a goal, the last time coming in a 2-1 victory against Penn on Sept. 17, 2023.
“It’s a commitment to get numbers forward,” Shaw said. “With the system we’re playing and having a lot of numbers behind the ball when we win the ball, we’ve got to play forward quicker and then we’ve got to get numbers into the attack.”
Temple began to find life with creative passing after the second Villanova goal. The offensive groove allowed forward Sumaya Togba to get the first shot on goal in the 26th minute.
Bynoe also started to shake off her slow start, making four of her five saves in the first half which allowed Temple to create some momentum. However, it didn’t lead to points, and the Owls became increasingly frustrated at the lack of offensive output.
Just 10 minutes later, Temple began to unravel completely. Schumate found forward Morgan Kotch, who promptly slid a ball into the bottom left of the net, adding to the Wildcats lead going into the half.
“We’ve been pretty organized but ultimately the issue that we’re having right now is our ability to defend in one-on-one situations,” Shaw said. “We’re getting outside backs slightly isolated and we’ve got to be better in one-on-one situations all over the field, offensively and defensively.”
Temple’s luck didn’t change in the second half, only attempting two shots while being completely outclassed on both ends of the field. The Owls just had five shots on goal all game compared to the Wildcats’ 11.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats’ attack continued to show no remorse, with Kotch heading home a ball 20 minutes into the second half to put the icing on the cake of an emphatic victory.
Temple has now been on the losing side against Villanova in their last two meetings. The Owls last picked up a victory against the Wildcats on Feb. 17, 2021.
Temple had seven fouls in the game, and the body language became more annoyed and irritated throughout the afternoon. The result led to Shaw pulling all of the upperclassmen for a meeting following the game.
“As they go we go,” Shaw said. “If they want to end on a good note and they want to leave a positive legacy for the next year’s class, then it’s up to them to really step up. If I can’t get them to buy into what we are trying to do then it’s going to be a long season. But I will say that they are a good group and I think they are heading in the right direction.”
The Owls will continue their six-game road stand when they travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to play Wake Forest (1-0-1, 0-0 Atlantic Coastal Conference) on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m.
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