Sawyer Hemmer is one minute older than his twin-brother Nolan, though if you watch them play soccer together, you’d think they were clones. Each is listed at 6-feet-2 inches tall and 180 pounds.
“We know everything about each other,” Nolan Hemmer said. “It helps us on the field and I know where he is going to be at all times without looking up. It’s kind of nice.”
The Demorest, Ga. natives helped the Owls improve to 4-0 on the season in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory over Rider University at the Ambler Sports Complex.
Temple was awarded a penalty kick in the 77th minute that was converted by Jared Martinelli. Otherwise the story for Temple was again their stellar defensive play, led in part by the Hemmer brothers.
“This being our senior year, I’m going to miss playing with [my brother] greatly,” Nolan Hemmer said.
A lot of times in soccer, goaltending gets the bulk of recognition during scoreless streaks. But when a team gives up one shot on goal, it’s a product of the defensive effort.
That’s not to say that junior goalkeeper Dan Scheck hasn’t been a key member this season. After all he has yet to be scored upon in the 2013 campaign and now sports a 596:34 shutout streak, dating back to last season.
“He’s been a beast back there so far, he’s big time,” Sawyer Hemmer said. “He came in, was second string at first and worked his way up and now he’s doing a really great job for us.”
The key for Temple so far this season has been defense.
“We’ve had two new people come in and we’ve meshed pretty quickly,” Sawyer Hemmer said. “Nolan and I have been playing together for a while so we obviously know each other well.”
Those two new people are freshmen Robert Sagel and Stefan Mueller, both having started alongside Sawyer Hemmer on defense in each of the first four games.
With the No. 20 ranked recruiting class, there was always a chance that some freshmen would crack the starting lineup.
“Coming into preseason we knew we had to work hard to get everyone on the same page and have the same goals,” Nolan Hemmer said. “If the freshman were indeed going to start for us, there’s definitely expectations for them.”
The Owls will look to improve their record to 5-0 this Saturday night against Saint Joseph’s. A win would tie the team’s best start in program history, dating back to 1986 under former coach John Boles.
Jeffrey Neiburg can be reached at jeffneiburg@yahoo.com or on Twitter @Jeff_Neiburg.
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