About a month ago, Temple appeared to hit a road bump. The Owls were blanked by No. 3 Virginia on Sept. 6 before dropping a nailbiter to Richmond just two days later. The losses kickstarted a downward spiral after beginning the year 2-0.
The season outlook was bleak following a 2-0 loss to then No. 14 UConn on Sept. 20 to hand Temple its fourth straight loss. The loss dipped the Owls’ record to 2-4 and put their Big East tournament hopes on the line.
“In the four-game losing streak, realistically only two of the teams statistically beat us,” said head coach Michelle Vittese. “Penn and Richmond did not and I think we are just going through that growing phase.”
Instead of continuing to spiral, Temple got back on track with a 4-0 victory against La Salle on Sept. 22 before playing three straight nationally-ranked opponents. The Owls had struggled to beat ranked teams leading up to the stretch and winning even one game seemed like a major challenge.
Instead, the Owls completely changed the narrative by taking down ranked Big East foes Liberty and Old Dominion, while also toppling No. 20 Monmouth. The Owls used an overtime period to get past Monmouth and ODU, but clobbered Liberty 5-1. With top-notch wins under their belt, the Owls now have their sights on getting past the conference semifinals — something they have not been able to do in recent years because of losses to ranked teams.
“I honestly couldn’t even tell you that we won five games in a row,” Vittese said. “I’m so focused on what we have to do next. Getting ranked is super fun but I’m almost like, ‘don’t rank us like, continue to not take us seriously.’”
Temple’s success can be traced back to its defense, the usual strength of the team. The Owls have allowed more than two goals just once this season and have recorded four shutouts behind standout goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale.
Ospitale opened the season by splitting time in goal with Alex Lepore. But Ospitale began to turn heads with her performance, especially in the second half of losses to Penn and Richmond. She earned a start against UConn and she hasn’t relinquished the starting spot since.
Ospitale has been one of the best goalkeepers in the country since stepping into the cage full-time. She ranks 9th in goals against average and 11th in save percentage. Her efforts led her to being named Big East Defensive Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks.
“I have been really proud of myself,” Ospitale said. “It feels really nice knowing that I’ve worked for it for so long. And I have to give so much credit to my defense and the rest of the team. I want to play for them and I want to do well for them.”
Temple’s offense has also showcased drastic improvement from last season’s struggles. The Owls opened the season with 13 goals in two games before collapsing, scoring just three goals in the next four games. The offense has bounced back during the win streak, finding the back of the net 16 times in the six wins.
Overall, Temple has scored 32 goals and is averaging 2.67 goals per game, both significant jumps from last season when they scored 23 and averaged just 1.2. The Owls’ offense has continued to generate a high amount of scoring chances. They have fired off 16 shots per game and have accumulated 82 penalty corners.
The Owls’ offensive attack has been more balanced this season, with four players already reaching double-digit points. Midfielder Tess Muller and back Alizé Maes, who led the offense last season, have continued their strong play in 2024. Muller has scored five goals while dishing out three assists while Maes has four goals and leads the team in shots with 40.
While Maes and Muller have continued their strong performances, the supporting cast has stepped up to push the offense to a new level.
Midfielder Peyton Rieger has transformed into one of the best players on the field, helping aid the five-game win streak. Rieger is tied for the team lead in points and has scored five goals this season. Midfielders Devin Kinzel and Halle Aschenbach have also stepped up on offense, with Kinzel leading the team in goals with six while Aschenbach has added three.
“If we don’t have [Rieger and Aschenbach], this team is different,” Vittese said. “If Peyton doesn’t have the year she’s having, if Halle doesn’t have the year she’s having, it looks a lot different. Our team is reliant on them, and I think that’s a little bit of pressure, but also a massive opportunity for everyone.”
With six games left until the conference tournament, the Owls have gone from potentially missing the postseason for the first time since 2019, to competing for the top spot in the Big East. The win streak vaulted Temple into the national polls, similarly to last season when Temple won four straight games to garner national attention.
Temple has made the Big East tournament each of the last four seasons but has failed to record a win. The Owls are well positioned to make another run at the postseason but have to keep believing in themselves and playing their style of field hockey to finally see the results, Muller said.
“Sometimes I feel like the pressure is really high and we just need to make sure we continue to have fun,” Muller said. “We get in our heads sometimes and we want to be back at that level that we were once at and I think this team is even more capable of doing that.”
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