Monthly Archives: September 2013

Volleyball to participate in Patriot League Invitational

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The volleyball team heads south this weekend to participate in the Patriot League Invitational. They will play three matches in Fairfax, Va. against George Mason, Radford, and Coppin State.

“I think it’s a great tournament because Radford is playing really well this season,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “They are 3-1 after beating Cal St. Fullerton last night, George Mason is 0-3 but every match they have had has been really tight, they easily could be 3 and 0. Those will definitely be the toughest of the three teams we play. Coppin State I think is personally a little weaker then George Mason but you never know in a tournament setting.”

The team will look to improve on last weekend’s performance as the team went 1-1 in the Buffalo Invitational.

“I think this is a really good test for us as we progress forward with this team in this young season,” Ganes said. “We are really looking forward to play in this tournament. I thought we were a little inconsistent last weekend, but we kind of expected that, it is always tough coming out of preseason and jumping right into game action especially with eight new players, but hopefully we will be a little bit more stable this week.”

This weekend also marks the homecoming for Tiffany Connatster, the native of Fairfax lives only five minutes away from where the Owls will be playing.

“I think it is going to be really fun, it’s going to be nice to have my family, coach, and old friends there cheering me on,” Connatster said. “They don’t have to drive three hours to come see me play, I am really looking forward to returning home to play.”

Another storyline is Emily Carlin plays her former team, Radford University, in the second game of the tournament. Carlin played three seasons there and just transferred to Temple this year.

“I am filled with excitement, it is fueling the fire for me this weekend,” Carlin said. “I am ready to go out there and play with this team and win.”

The Owls take on Radford in the first game at 5 p.m. Friday.

Men’s soccer looks for second win

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The Owls will be seeking their second win of the season Friday against Wofford at 4 p.m. The matchup will be held at Ambler, making it the team’s first home game of the year.

Temple has not been able to win two consecutive games to start the season since 2011, when they were able to beat Lafayette and Holy Cross.

Coach David MacWilliams will be seeking improvement in team chemistry that might have lacked in the first game. With the addition of many new players, the team is still trying to gel with one another and might have been one of the reasons why the Owls were forced to take the first game into overtime.

“I think we created some, but at the final third, we weren’t able to execute as we would’ve liked,”  MacWilliams said on Friday after the game. “Good teams will find ways to execute and better teams do (execute). We need to work on the final pass or shot and get better.”

However, the Owls will look to capitalize Wofford’s poor start to the season as Wofford already has two loses through two games. This will be a good chance for the Owls to implement and improve on their tactics as well as their chemistry against a team that already started off poorly.

The Owls will be looking to win another non-conference game to enhance their chances of making the playoffs once again. With another non-conference win, not only do they have a better chance of making the playoffs, but also it brings confidence within the team to help get through the tough American conference.

Field hockey takes on Penn State

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University Park is the destination for the Owls’ first road trip of the year, as they have a Friday night matchup against the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Both teams lost their last game, so both will be looking to bounce back with a win. However, Temple’s success against Penn State in recent years hasn’t been all that great. The Owls are 0-3 against Penn State over the last three seasons, losing each game by a four-goal deficit.

Temple began the season with an impressive 4-1 win over Ohio State, but had a hard time keeping pace with No. 2 ranked Maryland in a 5-1 loss the next day.

Despite the loss, Temple did have some bright spots in that game. They were able to keep the game at a 1-1 tie for the majority of the first half. The offense, led by junior forward Amber Youtz, senior forward Lauren Hunt and freshman forward Katie Foran had trouble breaking through Maryland’s defensive setup, but the Owls’ defense was able to hold their own for a good part of the game.

Three goals did get by redshirt-junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen in the second half, but she made 18 saves by the end of the day, which is no small feat, considering that Maryland was able to put 23 shots on goal and spent a lot of time on the attack.

There wasn’t a lot that went Temple’s way in Sunday’s loss to Maryland, but they’re hoping that what did go right will carry over.

“We know we have the right pieces in place,” head coach Amanda Janney said. “It was a little disappointing seeing that we gave up so many goals in the second half, after having such a great first half with Maryland.”

“We are not quite battle-tested yet,” Janney added. “But an opponent like Penn State will help us get ready for the Big East.”

Golf schedule released

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The golf schedule for the 2013 fall season has been released.

The schedule features five tournaments spanning from Sept. 14 through Oct. 13.

The season will get underway at The McLaughlin Tournament on Sept. 14 in Farmingdale, N.Y. and conclude at the Temple Invitational at Huntingdon Valley, Pa. on Oct. 13.

Five tournaments are listed on the schedule, with each one lasting two days.

Aside from Farmingdale, N.Y., the Owls will play tournaments in Newport, R.I., South Cent, Conn., Raleigh, N.C. and Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

Temple is led by the efforts of 2013 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, sophomore Brandon Matthews, junior Matt Teesdale, who posted three top-ten finishes in six events in the spring, and senior Matt Crescenzo.

You can view the entire schedule here:

http://owlsports.com/schedule.aspx?path=mgolf

Men’s team opens season this weekend

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The men’s tennis team will head south to Annapolis, Md. this weekend to open up its fall season at the Navy Invitational.

University of Delaware, St. Bonaventure and Navy are the teams the young Temple quad will be competing against in the three day tournament.

The first opponent Temple will be playing is St. Bonaventure on Friday at 11 a.m. On Saturday, Temple will face Delaware at 2 p.m and on Sunday, Temple will close out the tournament against Navy at 2 p.m, who will be Temple’s toughest opponent with a record of 17-12 last season.

According to coach Steve Mauro, all eight players will be playing both singles and doubles matches over the course of the tournament.

The team will be leaving early Friday morning.

Owls to play first home games

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After playing four consecutive road games, the Temple Owls (4-0) will open the Ambler Sports Complex to host their first home games of the season against the Marshall Thundering Herd (2-1-1) and the Rider Broncs (1-2).

Temple will face Marshall at 1:30pm on Friday, followed by a 12 p.m. Sunday matchup against Rider.

The Owls are off to the best start in program history, beginning the season with four consecutive victories. Temple has also recorded four consecutive shutouts which ties the program record.

On offense, six different Owls have scored this season, led by junior defender Alyssa Kirk and freshman midfielder Ingrid Mello, who are both tied with two goals apiece. Sophomore forward Kelly Farrell leads the team with two assists. Mello, Kirk, and Farrell account for 12 of Temple’s 24 points registered in 2013.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff recently earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference’s weekly honor roll after she posted two more shutouts and recorded five saves.

The Thundering Herd’s Friday afternoon game against the Owl follows a double overtime game against Akron which ended in a 1-1 tie.

Sophomore forward Erin Simmons leads Marshall in scoring, recording three goals this season. Junior goalkeeper Lizzie Kish has started between the bars in each of Marshall’s games, recording 15 saves and two shutouts in the process.

Sunday, Rider will attempt to rebound against Temple, following a 2-0 shutout loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.

The Broncs have managed a total of three goals this season with senior forward Jennifer Meier leading the team with two goals and an assist. Rider has split it’s goalkeeping duties between redshirt freshman Vanessa Perdomo and freshman Bethany-May Howard. Both goalkeepers have recorded a total of 15 saves.

As a team, Temple’s defense has limited opponents’ shot opportunity which has contributed to the .000 goal percentage it has allowed. In four games played, the Owls have more than doubled their opponent’s shots, averaging 14 shots compared to their opponents’ 6.5 shots. Marshall has averaged 15.5 shots per game and Rider has averaged 9.7 shots per game.

Temple will be facing Marshall for the first time in program history this weekend. Against Rider, the Owls’ will attempt to win their first ever match against the Broncs, going 0-2 in past seasons.

Owls to host their first pair of home games

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After playing four consecutive road games, the Temple Owls (4-0) will open the Ambler Sports Complex to host their first home games of the season against the Marshall Thundering Herd (2-1-1) and the Rider Broncs (1-2).

Temple will face Marshall at 1:30 pm on Friday, followed by a noon matchup on Sunday against Rider.

The Owls are off to the best start in program history, beginning the season with four consecutive victories. Temple has also recorded four consecutive shutouts which ties the program record.

On offense, six different Owls have scored this season, led by junior defender Alyssa Kirk and freshman midfielder Ingrid Mello, who have two goals apiece. Sophomore forward Kelly Farrell leads the team with two assists. Mello, Kirk, and Farrell account for 12 of Temple’s 24 points registered in 2013.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff recently earned a spot on the American Athletic Conference’s weekly honor roll after she posted two more shutouts and recorded five saves.

The Thundering Herd’s Friday afternoon game against the Owls follows a double overtime game against Akron which ended in a 1-1 tie.

Sophomore forward Erin Simmons leads Marshall in scoring, recording three goals this season. Junior goalkeeper Lizzie Kish has started between the bars in each of Marshall’s games, recording 15 saves and two shutouts in the process.

On Sunday, Rider will attempt to rebound against Temple, following a 2-0 shutout loss to Fairleigh Dickinson.

The Broncs have managed a total of three goals this season with senior forward Jennifer Meier leading the team with two goals and an assist. Rider has split it’s goalkeeping duties between redshirt freshman Vanessa Perdomo and freshman Bethany-May Howard. Both goalkeepers have recorded a total of 15 saves.

As a team, Temple’s defense has limited opponents’ shot opportunity which has contributed to the .000 goal percentage it has allowed. In four games played, the Owls have more than doubled their opponent’s shots, averaging 14 shots compared to their opponents’ 6.5 shots. Marshall has averaged 15.5 shots per game and Rider has averaged 9.7 shots per game.

Temple will be facing Marshall for the first time in program history this weekend. Against Rider, the Owls’ will attempt to win their first ever match against the Broncs, going 0-2 in past seasons.