Volleyball continues homestand

The  volleyball team will host two American Athletic Conference matches this weekend, as the Owls take on Houston on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m., and then face SMU on Sunday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m.

“Both matches this weekend are going to be exciting and very competitive matches,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “Two excellent teams are coming. Houston and SMU are both 3-1 in the conference. Both teams are very physical, physically gifted in many ways.”

Temple also sits at 3-1 in the conference and 11-4 overall so they want to prove that they belong at the top of this conference. The Owls were picked to finish seventh in the preseason but they are proving that ranking wrong so far this year.

Senior Gabriella Matautia leads the Owls and the entire conference with 4.22 points per set. She is also second in the conference in kills per set with 3.69. Sophomore libero Alyssa Drachslin is the team leader in digs with 4.11 digs/set. Junior middle blocker Jennifer Iacobini leads the team in total blocks with 48, and also leads the team with 18 service aces which rank fourth in the conference.

This is a young Temple team this year with only three seniors on the roster so a few freshmen have been called on to step up and play big time minutes. Caroline Grattan and Tyler Davis are answering that call, as they are both top four on the team in kills with just over 2 kills per set.

Ganes knows it will be a tough task this weekend with Houston and SMU but has confidence in his team.

“We again are going to under sized,” Ganes said. “It’s a great challenge and hopefully the atmosphere the same or even better than what we had against Memphis. We are looking forward to this competition this week. “

Field hockey hosts Providence

Now into the latter half of the season, the No. 17 Owls have a weekend of Big East play ahead of them.

They’ll start with a matchup against Providence on Friday afternoon at Geasey Field.

Providence is 5-6 overall and 1-2 in conference play heading into Friday’s game. The team is 1-1 in its last two games, which included a 5-1 win over Brown on Oct. 2 and a 4-1 loss to No. 4 UConn on Oct. 5.

The Friars’ offense is led by junior forward Daniella Bernasconi, who leads the Big East with 14 goals and 30 points. Bernasconi recorded a hat-trick in the win against Brown and also scored Providence’s only goal in the defeat to UConn. She is first in the nation in goals per game with a 1.27 average.

Providence’s defense has allowed an average of 1.73 goals per game, with junior goalkeeper Deidra Clymer posting a .753 save percentage that is good for 20th best in the nation.

Temple is also coming off a 1-1 weekend. The team took a heartbreaking loss to Louisville (now No. 14) 2-1 in overtime, but bounced back with a 3-1 win over Bucknell that saw senior midfielder/defender Molly Doyle record her first career hat-trick.

Doyle also scored Temple’s lone goal against Louisville and is tied for fourth in goals in the Big East, and she made the conference’s weekly honor roll.

There have been a few bumps in the road, but Temple has enjoyed a lot of success already, going into Friday’s game with a 9-3 record.

The Owls are 2-1 in conference play and have enjoyed much of their success at home, going 7-1 at Geasey Field.

Temple has won six-straight at home, after losing to the currently No. 1 ranked Maryland 5-1 on Sept. 1.

Defense has been one of the team’s greatest strengths, holding opponents to 1.42 goals per game. Meanwhile, redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen has played extremely well in net, posting a .795 save percentage that is sixth in the nation.

Friday’s game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. with rain expected in the forecast.

Owls to face SMU

The Owls get back to conference play and will be facing off against a 2-8 Southern Methodist team tonight at 7 p.m.

Temple has yet to win a conference game this season while SMU already has one win in two games in its conference play.

Temple defeated Drexel in its last game in 2-0 and finished in a draw against a ranked Connecticut squad.

SMU has scored 11 goals in 10 games while Temple has scored 13 goals in 11 games. SMU’s defense has conceded 18 goals in all competition.

Field Hockey moves back to No. 17

At 9-3, the Owls have the nation’s 17th ranking once again.

A 1-1 weekend that included a close 2-1 overtime loss to conference opponent Louisville (now No. 14) and a bounce back 3-1 win against Sacred Heart bumped Temple up a spot in this week’s Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I Coaches Poll.

The Owls held the No. 18 spot last week after making their way into the national rankings on Sept. 10. They previously held the No. 17 spot during the week of Sept. 24

This is the team’s fifth straight week in the national rankings.

Temple is also No. 11 in the NCAA Division I RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) rankings.

Dunphy highest paid Temple coach

According to public information released by Temple, men’s basketball coach Fran Dunphy was the highest paid employee in the athletics department during the 2011-12 fiscal year.

With a salary of $659,600, Dunphy was the fifth highest paid employee at Temple. Former football coach Steve Addazio was the seventh highest paid employee at Temple, with gross earnings of $612,414 during the same 2011-12 fiscal year.

Before Addazio’s arrival, former football coach Al Golden was the highest paid university employee with gross earnings of $898,031 during the 2010-11 fiscal year. Addazio left Temple after the 2012 season for a coaching position at Boston College, while Golden left after the 2010 season for a coaching position at the University of Miami.

Temple set to take on Bucknell

Friday night’s loss was a tough pill to swallow.

The No. 18 Temple Owls saw their win streak end at five games, as conference opponent and No. 17 ranked Louisville celebrated a 2-1 overtime win. It was Temple’s third loss this season and its first in Big East play.

There is something to be learned from every game, though. The Owls had their issues and the only thing they can do is correct those issues for Sunday afternoon’s matchup against Bucknell.

The Bison are 6-4 in 2013, having won four of their last five games. They beat Lafayette 2-1 on Saturday, with junior defender Liz Wills and senior forward Rachel Misko doing the scoring for Bucknell.

Senior forward Leigh Hillman leads the team in scoring with seven goals and one assist for 15 points.

On the Owls’ side, junior forward Amber Youtz is still out with an arm injury, but the other forwards in freshman Katie Foran, sophomores Tricia Light and Alyssa Delp and senior Lauren Hunt have stepped up in Youtz’s absence.

Temple has also continued to play well defensively and redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen’s save percentage— now. 802 — has stayed among the best in the nation. Temple is 3-1 all-time against Bucknell and won the last matchup 5-4 back on Sept. 23, 2012.

The Owls will be looking to bounce back in their return home to Geasey Field. The game starts at 1:00 PM ET.

Field hockey faces Cardinals

The football team will face Louisville tomorrow, but not before field hockey has their shot at the Cardinals tonight.

The No. 18 Owls left for Kentucky on Thursday morning to face a Cardinals squad on Friday night that is one spot ahead of them in the national rankings at No. 17.

It will be Temple’s third conference game this season, but its first against a Top 20 ranked opponent since the Owls shutout the then No. 6 ranked Penn State 3-0 on Sept. 6.

Both teams are 8-2 on the season and are 2-0 in Big East Conference play so far.

The Owls and the Cardinals aren’t too different on the stat sheet either, with Temple averaging 2.90 goals per game and Louisville averaging 3.00 goals per game.

On the defensive side, the Owls have held opponents to 1.40 goals per game, aided by the play of redshirt junior goalkeeper Lizzy Millen, who has the fifth best save percentage in the country at .813.

Louisville has kept opponents to 1.38 goals per game, with redshirt sophomore Sydney King in goal and current Big East Defensive Player of the Week, junior back Alyssa Voelmle.

Voelmle will clash with the Offensive Player of the Week in freshman forward Katie Foran, who scored three goals last weekend in wins over Rutgers and Sacred Heart.

Since making their way into the nation’s top 20 with the No. 11 ranking on Sept. 10, the Owls have only fallen back in the rankings.

However, a good two games this weekend could change that.

Tonight’s game is set to start at 6:00 PM EST.

Owls travel to Sunshine State

This weekend, the  Owls will play a pair of road conference games against the South Florida Bulls and the No. 24 Central Florida Knights.

Temple will visit Tampa, FL to face South Florida (5-2-3, 0-1) on Friday at 7:30 p.m., followed by Central Florida (8-2-1,1-0) on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Orlando, FL.

Temple (6-4-1,1-1) look to continue their road game success, where the Owls recorded a 4-0-1 record during the non-conference schedule. The Owls have also shutout each of their road opponents in 2013 and defeated their first four road opponents by a combined eight goals.

In the early going of conference play, sophomore midfielder Paige Rachel has been the Owls’ offensive standout, recording a goal and assist against Houston. Rachel’s effort against the Cougars earned her a spot on the conference Weekly Honor Roll. Eight different Owls have scored goals this season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Shauni Kerkhoff has recorded 39 total saves which ranks fourth in conference. Kerkhoff is also one shutout shy of tying the program record for shutouts in a year (eight) and career shutouts (12).

USF has played competitively against nationally ranked opponents this season, losing to No. 19 South Carolina and tying with No. 8 Florida 1-1. Senior forward Sharla Passariello leads the Bulls with four goals this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Christiane Endler has recorded 40 saves and .870 save percentage.

UCF is riding a seven game unbeaten streak with its most recent victory coming against USF. After receiving votes throughout the season, the Knights earned a No. 24 national ranking this week. Senior Forward Nicolette Radovcic leads the Knights’ offense with 12 goals and three assists. Senior goalkeeper Lianne Maldonado was selected as the conference’s preseason goalkeeper of the year.

In program history, Temple’s only game against UCF was a 0-3 loss in 1992. The Owls have never faced USF.

Owls look for first conference win

The Owls will look to produce their first conference victory against No. 22 Connecticut on Wednesday afternoon.

Temple lost its first conference game against No. 18 Louisville last Saturday night, and will look to bounce back from that loss.

The Owls are currently 6-3-0 and will look to continue their home dominance against a conference foe. The Owls are undefeated at home this season and also has yet to give up a goal at home as well. The shutout streak is led by junior goalkeeper, Dan Scheck.

Meanwhile, UConn has struggled to live up to its rank as they have yet to win on the road this season with the record of 0-1-1. Their success has mostly been at home, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of UConn team shows up at Ambler.

UConn has a record of 3-2-2 this season in seven matches.

UConn is not a high volume scoring team like Louisville, as they have only scored five goals in seven matches. But, they have only conceded four goals in seven matches as well, so this could be a tough and gritty match for the Owls. UConn has already played one conference game this season having tied USF.

Both teams will be looking for their first conference win of the season as they face off on Wednesday 3 p.m. at Ambler.

Owls ranked No. 18, Foran named player of the week

Temple improved to 8-2 over the weekend with a 2-1 win over Big East rival Rutgers and a 3-0 shutout of Sacred Heart.

The Owls have won five straight, keeping them within the nation’s top 20 for the fourth straight week.

This week’s Penn Monto/NFHCA Division I National Coaches Poll has the Owls in the No. 18 spot, placing them one spot behind the No. 17 ranking they held last week.

Temple has gotten off to its best start since 1990, but hasn’t moved up in the national rankings since taking the No. 11 spot back on Sept. 10.

A win on Friday night could change that.

The Owls will face conference opponent Louisville on Friday night, who at 7-2 is one spot ahead of Temple at No. 17.

Temple is 2-0 in Big East play after beating both Villanova and Rutgers, but Louisville will be the first ranked team it faces since shutting out the then No. 6 ranked Penn State 3-0 on Sept. 6.

Freshman forward Katie Foran had a big weekend for the Owls and she is getting recognized for it.

Foran has been named the Big East Offensive Player of the Week after scoring three goals over the weekend.

She scored both of Temple’s goals in Friday’s 2-1 win over Rutgers and tallied the first goal in the 3-0 shutout of Sacred Heart on Sunday.

Foran is the third Owl to earn the award this season, joining senior midfielder/defender and co-captain Molly Doyle and junior forward Amber Youtz.