Owls look to bounce back against Monmouth

In its first game as the No. 11 team in the nation, Temple was shutout by Delaware 2-0.

It was a game where the team was “one step behind,” according to coach Amanda Janney, and one where the Owls didn’t start making a push until the very end.

“We waited until the last minute to start to play hard and push,” Janney said following Friday night’s loss.  “Our team did a really good job to take over the game by the end, but by then it was too late. We learned and tomorrow we need to come out right away.”

Tomorrow has arrived and the Owls will have a chance to bounce back against Monmouth, a team that has struggled coming out of the gate.

Monmouth has yet to earn a win this season, opening up with an 0-3 record. Heading into Saturday afternoon’s game at Geasey Field, the Hawks have been outscored by opponents 11-4.

Defense and goalkeeping have been strengths for Temple, with the Owls holding their opponents to an average of two goals per game and redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen posting a .815 save percentage.

Offense is a bit of a concern, though. Temple has been outshot by its opponents in each game since they beat Ohio State 4-1 on Aug. 31.

The Owls have been able to capitalize on fewer scoring opportunities, but it didn’t work for them on Friday night.

Monmouth is allowing an average of 3.67 goals per game after their first three games, so Saturday could be a good opportunity for the Owls to adjust and start putting on more offensive pressure.

Owls face Delaware tonight

Temple hits the road for the second time this season to play the University of Delaware on Friday night.

A 3-1 record kickstarted the Owls’ season and gave them the No. 11 spot in the national rankings, but Delaware hasn’t been a struggling team either.

The Blue Hens have also gotten off to a 3-1 start, beating Ohio, Central Michigan and Lafayette in three of their first four games. Their one loss came from a 2-1 defeat in overtime to Boston University on Sept. 2.

Defense has been one of Temple’s greatest strengths in a still very young season, holding their opponents to an average of two goals per game.

The case appears to be the same for Delaware as well, as they have held opponents to an average of 1.75 goals per game.

Delaware has senior Sarah Scher in goal, who has made 17 saves, with a 1.73 goals against average and a .708 save percentage so far this season.

Her save percentage is lower than redshirt junior goalkeeper and co-captain Lizzy Millen’s, but Millen has made over twice as many saves.

After stopping 35 shots, Millen has a 1.99 goals against average and the ninth best save percentage in the nation with .814.

Millen has been doing a great job as Temple’s last line of defense and will need to keep it up in order to help the Owls continue to succeed.

On the offense, senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Molly Doyle and junior forward Amber Youtz are tied for the team lead in points. Both of them have 10 points, four goals and two assists.

Doyle has been very effective on penalty corners, scoring all three of her goals from last weekend on penalty corners.

Meanwhile, Youtz has shown no signs of slowing down since leading the team in scoring last season. She has scored in three of the Owls first four games, two of which came last Sunday against Richmond, with the last being the overtime game-winner.

Sophomore midfielder Michaela Patzner leads Delaware with four goals, two assists and 10 points. She scored her last goal against Central Michigan a week ago.

When Temple hits the field tonight they will do so as a nationally ranked team for the first time in 12 years, but right now, it doesn’t look like the Owls will let that be a reason to ease up.

“The team is staying pretty calm about it,” coach Amanda Janney said. “Every day at practice I challenge them with something new to keep them fresh and engaged.”

Tennis ready to compete

Six players from the men’s tennis team will be competing at
Princeton/Farnsworth Invitational this weekend, playing at the Lenz Tennis
Center starting on Friday and continuing until Sunday.

Temple will be among 14 universities that will be competing at the host
school in six singles flights and two doubles flight; Binghamton, Bucknell,
Buffalo, Columbia, Cornell, Fairleigh Dickinson (FDU), Georgetown,
Monmouth, Penn, St. John’s, Yale, New York Institute of Technology (NYIT),
and host team, Princeton. Singles matches will begin in the round of 16,
while doubles draw will start in the round of 32.

Doubles action will get underway with Kristian Marquart and Hernan Vasconez
pairing up against FDU’s Arnaud Valentin and Arvis Berzins in the Orange
round of 32 at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. The pair of Hicham Belkssir and Sam
Rundle will also be squaring off against Buffalo’s Sergio Arevallilia and
Jonathan Hannestad at 8:30 a.m. in the opening round of the Black flight.
Santiago Canete and Nicolas Paulus received a bye and will wait for
their match against either Buffalo or Bucknell at 9:45 a.m.

Both Marquart and Paulus will begin to compete in the Pagoda singles flight
at 10:45 a.m. Marquart will face Penn’s Jemery Court, while Paulus will
take on Jonathan Carcone of the host team.

In the Cordish singles flight, Vasconez received a bye in the round of 16
and will later play either FDU or St. John’s Vaisk Munshaw at 1:30 p.m.
Rundle will face Monmouth’s Brant Switzler in the opening round of the
Jadwin flight at 12:30 p.m. and Belkssir will take on James Ratchfold of
Yale at 1 p.m. in the Jersey flight round of 16.

If weather permits, the matches will be played outdoors. However, in
any event of rain the matches will be moved at the Jadwin Gymnasium.

This will be the 45th year Princeton will be hosting this tournament,
now named in honor of the life of the accomplished Princeton alumnus,
Ted Farnsworth.

Wyatt signs with Sixers

According to multiple reports, former Owl guard Khalif Wyatt has signed a contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.

An undrafted free agent, Wyatt played for the Sixers’ summer league team in Orlando, averaging a team-best 13.8 points per game.

Wyatt had a stellar senior year at Temple, winning Big 5 and Atlantic 10 Conference Player of the Year honors.

With a somewhat depleted roster after the trade of Jrue Holiday, Wyatt could have a chance to receive some playing time as the Sixers kick off their season Oct. 30 against the World Champion Miami Heat.

Cross country hires new assistant

Following an unprecedented summer of coaching hires, Temple’s track & field and cross country program has hired one more fresh face to its revamped staff in Grand Valley State University graduate Aaron Watson.

In what was an impending move for weeks, Watson has joined the staff as an assistant to distance coach James Snyder, it was announced via athletic communications Tuesday.

Watson worked as a volunteer distance coach at Grand Valley State for the past three seasons, and oversaw a women’s team that took two cross country NCAA Division II championships in 2010 and 2012 as well as back-to-back NCAA indoor titles in 2011 and 2012.

Watson was a member of Grand Valley State’s track and cross country programs briefly in 2008-09 and did not run, redshirting in all three seasons.

Watson is a USA track & field Level I Certified coach and graduated from Grand Valley State with a bachelor’s degree in sport management in 2012.

Owls look to continue success against Rider

Temple will look to continue their early season success tomorrow afternoon against Rider.

The defense has played well by not giving up a goal in 270 minutes. The offense has also picked it up by scoring a total of six goals in three games including a hat-trick by Martinelli in one of them.

The Owls will be looking to win their fourth straight game to start the season, and winning these non-conference games will be key to a successful season.

Rider is also coming off of two straight wins to start their season. Rider plays in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and has scored a total of five goals this season.

Women’s soccer looks to rebound

The Temple Owls (4-2) will face the Binghamton Bearcats (4-1) at Ambler Sports Complex on Friday at 4 p.m., followed by a road matchup against the Lafayette Leopards (3-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m.

This weekend, Temple will try to rebound after dropping two consecutive games against Marshall and Rider. During their current losing streak, the Owls have been shutout twice after outscoring their first four opponents 8-0.

The Owls’ defense has continued its strong play, allowing two goals in six games, but the offense has had recent struggles, netting a total of two goals against their last four opponents.

Junior defender Alyssa Kirk has led the Owls with 16 total shots in 2013, matching her career-high for a single season. Kirk also leads the team in shots on goal, recording nine, and has registered two goals this season.

Leading the Bearcats’ attack, sophomore forward Stephani Church has recorded three goals and one assist this season. Senior goalkeeper Carrie Martin has registered a 4-0 record in her starts, earning 14 total saves and three shutouts in the process.

Junior forward Alyssa Finelli is the top goal scorer for Lafayette, scoring two goals in three starts. Finelli has also recorded an assist. Freshman goalkeeper Danielle Sedillo has begun her season with a 3-1 record and has recorded 11 saves.

In program history, the Owls have managed a 1-0-1 record against Lafayette and a 0-1 record against Binghamton.

Field Hockey ranked No. 11

After a successful weekend that saw Temple beat both Penn State and Richmond, the Owls are now ranked 11th in the Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll.

It’s the team’s first national ranking since Sept. 2001, when they were ranked No. 17.

“It’s amazing for our program,” coach Amanda Janney said following Sunday’s overtime win against Richmond. “I think we’ve always had the team that can play with top 20 teams, but we haven’t gotten enough wins to be in the top 20 rankings consistently, but it’s always been a goal of mine and for the program.”

“I’m so glad that these athletes are working so hard,” Janney added. “It’s kind of a reward for our team and also the alumni who have worked so hard to get us in this position.”

The 2013 season is only four games old, but Temple has managed to get off to quite the start. It opened up the year with a 4-1 win over Ohio State, then went on to beat another Big 10 team in the No. 6 ranked Penn State and a former Atlantic-10 rival in Richmond. The Owls’ only loss so far was against Maryland in the second game of the year, when they lost 5-1 to the second-ranked team in the country.

Temple’s offense has averaged 2.75 goals per game so far, while the defense has kept opponents’ goals per game average to 2.00.

Redshirt junior goalkeeper and co-captain Lizzy Millen has also been one of the team’s biggest strengths, with a 1.99 goals against average and a .814 save percentage.

Senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Molly Doyle has also been named Big East Player of the Week, after scoring three goals and two assists during the games against Penn State and Richmond over the weekend.

Men’s soccer faces Hofstra

Sophomore Jared Martinelli will look to continue his goal scoring form against Hofstra on Sunday, in the team’s next matchup against Hofstra tomorrow at 2:30 p.m.

The Owls have played Hofstra twice since 2008 with a record of 1-0-1.

Marinelli was able to score a hat-trick against Wofford on Friday, as he has scored a total of four goals in two games and will be relied on the goal scoring again for the team.

Coach David MacWilliams will be looking for improved performances against Hofstra. Even though they were able to win their previous game 3-0, the team was lackluster through the first half. That will need to change against Hofstra, who has yet to lose this season with a record of 1-0-1.

Benson suspended from team

Senior fullback Wyatt Benson has been suspended from the football team following charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person resulting from an incident that occurred on April 27. Coach Matt Rhule told OwlScoop.com of the suspension following his Aug. 27 press conference.

Benson was named the male recipient of the Temple Teammates Community Service Award, which according to athletic communications is “given to student-athletes who have demonstrated leadership qualities in the area of community service, inspiring others to engage in similar selfless civic endeavors for the purpose of improving the quality of life for those in the local community.”

Benson played in all 11 games last season for the Owls.