Following Temple Men’s Soccer’s draw with Army Thursday night, there was a sense of optimism on the Owls bench. Temple led for 50 minutes before a 70th-minute goal evened the game and helped it end in a tie.
Going into Temple’s matchup against Villanova, the Owls looked to maintain aggression for 90 minutes and seal the deal for their first win of the year. They did just that, getting on the board first before the 10-minute mark.
Forward Xavier Rimpel fired a corner to defender Aaron Markowitz, who promptly headed the ball into the back of the net to take a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the game. Rimpel had another assist just 14 minutes later and the Owls went into cruise control to get into the win column.
Temple (1-0-1, 0-0-0 American Athletic Conference) sprinted past Villanova (0-1-1, 0-0-0 Big East Conference) 3-2 at the Temple Sports Complex Sunday evening. Rimpel was the man of the hour, having a hand in every Temple score with a goal and two assists.
“It’s nice to be in the win column,” said head coach Bryan Green. “It reinforces what we have been building, for a year plus now, the way we want to play, when we all buy in and play together, we’re gonna get results.”
The Villanova offense put off six shots in the first half, but the aggression didn’t translate into points. Just one Wildcat shot found the target in the first 45 minutes, but it was stopped by the gloves of goalkeeper Andrew Kempe.
Temple was the exact opposite, getting all four of their first-half shots on goal, with two getting past Wildcats goalkeeper Alex Yagudayev. The freshman had a rough go-around, allowing two goals, before being pulled six minutes into the second half.
The Owls doubled their lead after forward Charlie Votel put home a header 22 minutes into the contest. The goal was the first of his career and helped put a stranglehold on the game.
The Villanova defense was aggressive, racking up two yellow cards in the first half. The aggressiveness continued into the second half, collecting three more the rest of the way through.
Villanova finally got on the board in the 60th minute after forward Colby Raymond slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. Kempe initially saved a header from forward Balthi Saunders but Raymond was positioned perfectly to put away a goal to keep Villanova in the game.
“[I’m] happy, but definitely not satisfied,” Rimpel said. “We as a team all know our roles and to fill those roles as a unit, to create results, but overall we got the win and that is what is important.”
Villanova’s comeback hopes were quickly diminished, and it was Rimpel yet again who delivered the blow. He stepped up to take the penalty shot and converted with ease, giving the Owls a two-goal lead yet again.
Villanova’s physicality throughout the game eventually boiled over for the Owls. Wildcats midfielder Diego Valles and Temple midfielder Nathan Brown got tangled up. Emotions flared up between the cross-town rivals and a scuffle ensued, resulting in red cards for both Brown and Mikhail Zaretser in the 78th minute.
“We have to be more emotionally mature,” Green said. “So that in these big moments when teams are really pushing, those mistakes don’t turn into goals against.”
Wildcat midfielder Jorge Garcia cut the deficit back to one with 10 minutes remaining in the game. However, it was all for nothing, as they couldn’t get the ball in the net the rest of the way through and the Owls held on for the win.
Temple continues their out-of-conference schedule as they take on Monmouth (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Coastal Athletic Association) on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m.
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