Temple falls to No. 14 Saint Joseph’s

Temple Field Hockey (9-7, 3-3 Big East Conference) fell to Saint Joseph’s (13-4, 6-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) 2-1 Sunday afternoon at Ellen Ryan Field. The Owls entered the game on a three game win streak, but had that streak snapped by the Hawks because of an underwhelming offensive effort.

Following their best offensive game of the year against Villanova on Oct. 20, Temple’s offense struggled, failing to create opportunities against one of the best teams in the country. The Owls’ inability to come out on top against ranked opponents continued, as the loss dropped them to 0-3 against nationally-ranked teams on the season.

KEY MOMENTS

•  Temple earned the first penalty corner of the game with six minutes remaining in the first quarter, but back Alizè Maes’ shot was deflected and the game remained scoreless.
• Forward Hailey Bitters fired a shot by goalkeeper Molly Frey, giving St. Joe’s a 1-0 lead five minutes into the second quarter.
• St. Joe’s earned its first penalty corner late in the second quarter, but Frey made the save to keep it 1-0.
• The Owls got their first penalty corner of the second half with 11 minutes remaining in the third quarter, and forward Maddie Molchany converted a pass from Maes to tie the game at one.
• Midfielder Sol Borensztein gave St. Joe’s a 2-1 lead following a penalty corner with five minutes remaining in the third.
• St. Joe’s earned two straight penalty corners in the final minute of the third quarter, but Temple’s defense stood tall again to keep it 2-1.
• Midfielder Myrthe Schuilenburg fired a potential game-tying shot with eight minutes left, but was unable to convert. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Temple was outshot by St. Joe’s 10-3, with the Hawks putting five shots on goal while Temple had just two.
• Despite only having three shots, Temple had four penalty corner opportunities, while St. Joe’s had seven.
•  Molchany, Schuilenburg and midfielder Agustina Tucceri each had one shot for Temple.

ON TAP

Temple will stay on the road to face Big East foe Quinnipiac (6-9, 2-4 Big East Conference) in the final Big East game of the year on Oct. 27 at 3 p.m.