Women’s soccer falls to St. Joseph’s 7-1

The women’s soccer team was unable to keep up with St. Joseph’s last weekend, as the Owls
were defeated by the Hawks, 7-1. Playing the cross-town rivals’ at their home turf, Finnesey
Field, Temple fell behind early on, and could not pull ahead for the rest of the game.

“We knew coming in that this game has so much riding on it,” coach Matt Gwilliam said. “It was a conference game in the city. We didn’t match Saint Joseph’s in any aspect, especially a sense of urgency.”

The first goal was scored in the eighth minute of play, by St. Joseph’s senior forward Jen
Pfeiffer, who later tallied another in the 64th minute. The Hawks continued their attack,
unleashing seven goals on the Owls before Temple sophomore defender Gabby Lopez saved her
team from a shutout.

Scoring at one of the last possible opportunities, in the 88th minute of play, Lopez found her
opportunity when junior defender Brittany Wollner made the pass from a free kick and Lopez
got a solid connection.

Following Pfeiffer’s goal in the first half, Hawks’ sophomore forward Mo Hawkins added two
in a row, in the 15th and 23rd minutes. Hawkins, the Hawks leading scorer, rounded out the game
with a hat trick, adding her last contribution in the 62nd minute, also feeding an assist.

Other contributors to the St. Joe’s win were freshman forwards Kersten Formento and Maggie
Lupinski. Notable assists through the night included two by Lupinski, who earned four points
throughout the night, and sophomore defender Nicole King, who had three.

When the Hawks weren’t on the attack, the St. Joseph’s defense did its job to the fullest extent,
keeping the Owls offensive line contained to their own half for the larger part of the game.
Though Temple did manage to break into the opposing end sporadically, the Owls only managed
three shots throughout the duration of the game. One of the Owls’ shots was on net, resulting in
Lopez’s goal.

The Hawks outshot Temple 18-3, as St. Joseph’s was in control for the majority of playing time.

“We knew we had to make adjustments due to some injuries and we weren’t up to par on the night,” Gwilliam said. “Winning is a learned mentality and we are continuing to work towards that.”

The team has already tallied one conference victory this year, and with a current record of 4-10-
0, there are still four conference games left in which to improve upon. In 2010, the Owls finished
the year with one conference win against Rhode Island, rounding out at 6-12-1 overall.

The Owls next game will be against Xavier, played away in Cincinnati, Ohio on Friday, Oct. 21.

Liz Sim can be reached at elizabeth.sim@temple.edu.