Temple loses to No. 3 SMU in its final game of the season

Temple Men’s Soccer (3-8-4, 2-4-2 American Athletic Conference) fell to No. 3 Southern Methodist (12-1-2, 7-0-1 AAC) 2-1 Wednesday at Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium in Dallas, Texas. 

In head coach Bryan Green’s first season, the Owls were just short of a conference tournament appearance. Temple finished as the seventh seed and a point behind sixth-seeded FAU.

“Based on what we were doing in August to now compete with a really good SMU team, I would say they have made great progress,” Green said. 

KEY MOMENTS

• SMU midfielder Niv Berkovitz scored off the assist from forward Alexander Petraeus in the 15th minute to put the Mustangs up 1-0.
• Temple forward Juan Zepeda nearly tied the game in the 27th minute off a corner kick but hit the crossbar instead. Midfielder Lleyton Imparato followed up with a shot off the bounce, but SMU goalkeeper Cole Johnson recorded his first save to keep the Owls off the scoreboard. 
• In the 29th minute, Temple goalkeeper Andrew Kempe made his first save of the game against SMU midfielder Alex Salvo to avoid a 2-0 deficit in the first half.
• Midfielder Harvey Castro extended the Mustangs’ lead to 2-0 off an assist from forward Jelldrik Dallmann and Petraeus in the 48th minute.
• Kempe recorded his second save in the 56th minute against Dallmann to keep SMU from extending the lead.
• Forward Xavier Rimpel put the Owls’ on the board with a goal in the 64th minute off the assist from midfielder Ferran Vera Filella to cut the Mustang lead to 2-1. The Owls’ offense was shut down after that and could not generate more chances.

BY THE NUMBERS

• SMU won the first-half shot battle 5-2 but only put up two shots on goal. The Mustangs also had a goal wiped off the board due to an offsides penalty.
• Rimpel’s goal in the 64th minute was his first goal of the season. 
• SMU won the overall shot battle 12-5 despite losing the corner kick battle 5-4.
• Temple is now eliminated from the conference tournament, as South Florida’s 3-0 win over Florida Atlantic propelled them to the fifth seed.
• Despite winning fewer games than last season, the Owls finished 2023 with its most conference victories in three seasons.

ON TAP

Temple enters the offseason with more optimism than it’s had in years. The Owls finished with three wins and a tie in the final month of the season and found an identity in its fast-paced aggressive offense. Though Temple missed out on the playoffs, this season could be a sign of strong seasons to come.