Temple Field Hockey completes second half comeback in fourth straight win

Temple Field Hockey (6-1, 1-0 Big East Conference) defeated Quinnipiac University 6-3 (3-3, 0-1 Big East Conference) in a comeback effort Friday night with six unanswered goals in the second half to overcome a three-goal deficit from the first half and win its first game of conference play.

KEY PLAYS

• Just less than five minutes into the game, junior midfielder Micaela Grajales scored the first goal of the game to put Quinnipiac up early.
• With just 14 seconds remaining in the first half, senior midfielder Eva Veldhorst scored to put Quinnipiac up 3-0 through two quarters. 
• Three minutes and 55 seconds into the third quarter, senior defender McKenna Burkhardt scored on a penalty stroke to get Temple on the board.
• Within 14 seconds of each other, junior midfielder Myrthe Schuilenburg and sophomore midfielder Tess Muller scored to complete the comeback and tie the game at three goals.
• 10 minutes into the third quarter, Schuilenburg scored the goal to give the Owls their first lead at 4-3, for their fourth goal in the third quarter.

THE NUMBERS

• Schuilenburg finished with two goals
• Muller finished with one goal and two assists
• Senior goalie Molly Frey finished with six saves

WORDS FROM THE TEAM

“I knew that it was possible and I knew that we were capable of pulling that off,” said junior defender Olivia Vaccari. “So I wasn’t stressing too hard because I knew that we had time and we have the skills to do it.”

“Overall, I’m really proud of the second half we came back and we were fighting like we were taught.” Schuilenburg said. “We made adjustments during the break and we definitely came out stronger. I’m really proud of our connection. We got connected with each other, and we were working way harder than we did in the first half.”

WORDS FROM COACH

“I think it was really truly like not only a tale of two halves, but a tale of two different temple teams,” said head coach Michelle Vittese. “Realistically, the first 30 minutes did not hold a candle to who we are at all, and what I said at halftime was, we scored three goals in five minutes at Bucknell.”

ON TAP

The Owls will look to continue their four-game winning streak this Sunday, Sept. 18 at Howarth Field against La Salle University (3-4, 0-1 Atlantic 10 Conference).