In a match in which both teams entered looking for their first Atlantic 10 Conference win, Temple walked away with a double overtime victory against Duquesne on Sunday.
The match at Duquesne was deadlocked with defense through the first 100 minutes, but was ultimately settled in the 104th minute, as freshman midfielder Paige Rachel netted her first collegiate goal in the 1-0 overtime win.
“It was really unbelievable,” Rachel said. “It was unbelievable that I got the chance and was there to kick in the game-winning goal.”
The overtime goal by Rachel was assisted by senior midfielder Jourdan Brill, her first assist of the season.
“It was a great win for us today,” coach Matt Gwilliam said. “It was a well deserved win and we definitely earned it today.”
In goal for the Owls was freshman goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff, who recorded her third shutout of the season in her sixth game as the starter. With the shutout, Temple has five combined shutouts on the year. On the day, Kerkhoff recorded nine saves on nine shots on goal.
“It feels good to get the shutout, but it was the defense that played great today,” Kerkhoff said.
“[Kerkhoff] did well today,” Gwilliam said. “She wasn’t troubled much today in goal, and she does well with her athleticism in goal. She bailed us out of a few situations today.”
Gwilliam said his team’s defensive play against Duquesne was fantastic.
“The defense was able to limit opportunities, they were great and they were well organized,” Gwilliam said.
Despite being out shot 25-14, the Owls recorded as many shots on goal as Duquesne with nine. The goal by Rachel was the sixth goal for the Temple offense through 14 matches.
For the Owls, it is their first win in A-10 conference play. Following back to back 1-0 losses against St. Joseph’s University and Saint Bonaventure in conference play, the Owls pulled out a 1-0 win of their own Sunday.
Following the win, the Owls improve to 4-8-2 on the season, 1-2-0 in A-10 play. With the loss, Duquesne falls to 4-8-2 on the year, remaining winless in the A-10 with a 0-3-1 record in conference play. In the last three meetings between Temple and Duquesne, Temple is now 3-0.
“We definitely earned the win today and we deserved it,” Rachel said. “Hopefully, that will carry into next weekend.”
John Murrow can be reached at john.murrow@temple.edu. or on Twitter @JohnMurrow12.
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