With its seven-game win streak in the rearview mirror, Temple entered its game against Yale hoping to rediscover that magic. The Owls suffered back-to-back losses entering the game, sapping the momentum and giving flashbacks to last season.
When the Owls won four straight games last season to enter the rankings, they followed it up with four straight losses. Temple was hoping to avoid stringing the same tune this season but instead the woes continued.
It took Yale just nine minutes to find the back of the net, jumping out to an early one-goal lead. The Bulldogs doubled their lead in the second quarter and the Owls had no response, getting shut out for the second straight game and extending their losing streak to three games.
No. 19 Temple (9-7, 4-2 Big East Conference) fell to Yale (10-5, 3-3 Ivy League) 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Johnson Field. Despite dropping their last three games, the Owls have clinched a spot in their fifth straight Big East Tournament following other results around the Big East.
Yale came out in the first quarter with immediate pressure on the Owls’ defense. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to take the lead just 23 seconds into the game but Temple goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale stopped the early challenge.
Temple had struggled with slow starts on offense all season and they looked to break that trend. They answered Yale’s pressure with an offensive attack of its own firing off two shots and earning a penalty corner in the first three minutes but none resulted in goals.
Yale struck first with six minutes left in the first quarter when midfielder Ymre Massée used a clever chip shot to get the ball past Ospitale. The early goal set the tone for the Bulldogs, who established offensive control.
Massée got the best of Ospitale again two minutes into the second quarter, sneaking a shot past her to double the Bulldogs’ lead. The Owls attempted to answer Yale’s offensive attack but the Bulldogs’ defense did not allow Temple to get anything going. Ospitale made a quick save off a rebound just two minutes after the second goal to deny Yale a third goal.
In the final minutes of the second quarter, tension peaked when Yale midfielder Julia Freedman received a penalty for a series of close tackles. This gave Temple a two-minute player advantage, a golden opportunity to capitalize and shift the momentum. However, the Owls remained stagnant and could not find the back of the net, entering halftime scoreless.
Temple’s offense came out in the third quarter needing to find any kind of momentum. The Owls earned a penalty corner less than a minute into the third quarter, giving them an early scoring chance. Midfielder Marsha Ariesen stepped up for the shot, but it went wide, leaving the Owls still searching for a goal.
The Owls’ defense also stepped up out of the locker room, increasing their aggression on the press, making it difficult for Yale to break the ball out of its defensive zone. Temple only allowed Yale to fire off one shot in the third quarter but its offense still did not find any momentum.
Yale’s offense returned to its aggressive form as the fourth quarter opened. Temple decided to make a change in goal after halftime, replacing Ospitale with Alex Lepore and the Bulldogs sent 10 shots Lepore’s way in the fourth quarter.
The freshman, who had not appeared in a game since the Owls’ loss to Penn on Sept. 13, impressed in her return to the lineup. Lepore made six saves, with five coming against the fourth-quarter barrage.
With four minutes left, Freedman tapped a shot past Lepore to push the Yale lead to three and put the finishing touches on the Owls’ defeat. The Bulldogs finished the match with 20 shots compared to Temple’s 11 and both teams had five penalty corners. However, it was Yale who was able to capitalize on its chances and Temple who yet again failed to find the back of the net.
The Owls return home to conclude conference play against Quinnipiac (2-15, 0-6 Big East) on Nov. 1 at noon.
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