The No. 11 field hockey team had a quick turnaround Saturday against the Monmouth University Hawks after a tough loss to the Delaware Blue Hens on Friday night. The Owls responded with a balanced 6-0 win at Geasey Field.
Temple took a 1-0 lead and never looked back. The offense generated numerous opportunities while the defense controlled the back and limited the chances for the Hawks. It was a well-rounded performance for the Owls.
“We definitely knew we needed to make a statement and beat a team like Monmouth,” senior co-captain and midfielder/defender Molly Doyle said. “We knew what to expect and it was kind of up to us to go with the game-plan and make it work and we did. So I think we were able to capitalize in the corner today and we put a lot of necessary goals away.”
The Owls outshot the Hawks by 12 and had three more penalty corners. The Owls offense, led by junior forward Amber Youtz’s four goals and two assists, used every opportunity they could to widen their lead and put the game out of reach.
“I think we adjusted a lot on attack to be honest,” Youtz said. “We always have a solid defense and we worked on our midfield and attack to connect better and I think that really showed today with six goals.”
The defense, which has been strong the whole year, held their ground and did not break when the Hawks got their chances. But when the Hawks did get their chances, redshirt junior goalie Lizzy Millen saved the shots and notched her second shutout of the season.
“We have some excellent defenders leading with three fourth years—Molly, [senior Mandi Shearer], and Lizzy—and they have been through a lot in terms of they’ve played against some amazing opponents and they are very battle-tested and it’s paying off their senior year,” coach Amanda Janney said. “I think that leadership has really filtered out to raise the level of play.”
The Owls did not want the Delaware game to affect their play on Saturday, which was in the minds of the players going into the game.
“We came out with a lot of fire because we didn’t want to get beat by Delaware twice. It was the kind of thing where we had to fix our mistakes and prove that we do deserve to be ranked,” Youtz said.
Michael Guise can be reached at michaelguise@temple.edu or on Twitter @Mikeg2511.
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