Temple Men’s Soccer (0-0-2, 0-0 American Athletic Conference) tied Lehigh (0-1-1, 0-0 Patriot League Conference) 1-1 Monday night at the Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
For the second game in a row, Temple started slow in the first half but picked up the intensity in the second. The Owls, who had only four shots in the first half, added 15 in the second.
First-year head coach Bryan Green implored his team to pick up the pace, which led to the second-half surge for Temple’s offense.
“We kind of come into halftime realizing ‘Hey, we’re better than this, this isn’t necessarily how we play,” Green said.
Green credited goalkeeper Flannan Riley with being the team’s anchor. After a save by Riley, which kept the game at a one-goal deficit for the Owls, Temple midfielder Felix Ewald scored the game-tying goal in the 53rd minute.
“We started a little sluggish, so [Riley] kept us in the game there,” Green said. “I think he can keep improving, but he’s done well so far.”
Throughout the final stretch of the game, fouls were being called on both sides, and Temple missed several chances to take the lead. In the 84th minute, Lehigh midfielder Michael Laret earned a red card, costing Lehigh a player on the pitch. Despite having one more player than its opponent, Temple did not register a shot for the remainder of the game.
“We lost a little energy,” Green said. “I thought we could’ve done a little bit more with the ball through our possessions.”
KEY MOMENTS
- Ewald set up fellow midfielder George Medill for a shot, but the shot went off the crossbar.
- Riley had two first-half saves but committed a foul in the box. Lehigh forward Thomas Robertson fired home a penalty kick to take a 1-0 lead in the 38th minute of action.
- In the second half, Ewald scored Temple’s first goal of the season, hitting the high left portion of the net. This was Ewald’s first goal as an Owl.
- In the 64th minute, the Owls put up four consecutive shots, but nothing touched the net. Temple defender Gudmundur Neilsson followed that sequence with a shot on goal, but Lehigh goalkeeper Blake Koski recorded his fifth save.
- In the 79th minute, Temple midfielder Jayden Jackson put up the best chance to take the lead but slightly missed to the right. Midfielder Draven Barnett followed Jackson with a shot of his own, but it went off of the right post.
THE NUMBERS
- Temple put up a strong 19 shots with six on goal. Fifteen of the shots came in the second half.
- The Owls recorded all six of their corner kicks in the second half.
- Riley put up his second-straight strong performance at goalkeeper with four saves on five shots on goal.
- Temple’s foul troubles continued, as the team picked up 13 fouls, including three yellow cards.
ON TAP
The Owls will attempt to get their first win of the season against Saint Joseph’s (0-2, 0-0 Atlantic 10 Conference) at the Temple Sports Complex on Sep. 5 at 7 p.m.
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