Author Archives: Joey Cranney

Pisko suspension upheld

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A small committee of Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association board members has upheld the six-game suspension of ice hockey junior forward Joe Pisko, coach Jerry Roberts confirmed Thursday.

The decision was announced Tuesday morning.

Pisko’s six-game suspension was a result his role in the late-game brawl that broke out toward the end of an Oct. 13 loss at Rowan.

“The appeal is handed out by the same people who handed out the suspension, so the chance of them admitting they were wrong is minimal,” Roberts said. “They put together a small committee to determine what they felt was an appropriate suspension.”

Pisko will remain inactive until Friday, Nov. 9 when the Owls take on Liberty University at home.

Junior goalie Chris Mullen, who was handed a three-game suspension from the board after the Rowan game, will serve the final game remaining on his suspension Friday against St. Joseph’s University. He will be back Saturday when Temple takes on Montclair University away.

-Andrew Parent

Golf concludes fall play at Barnabas Health Intercollegiate

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The golf team wrapped up their fall season with a third-place finish at the Barnabas Health Intercollegiate at Fairmount Country Club in Chatham, N.J., from Sunday, Oct. 21 to Monday, Oct. 22.

The Owls saw some different names at the top of their leaderboard as sophomore Paul Carbone posted a four-over par score of 146 at the par-71 course. Carbone’s score was good for a tie of third place and was his best showing of the fall. Following Carbone was junior Matthew Crescenzo who had a total score of 148 after shooting an even-par 71 the first day and holding the individual lead. Crescenzo ended up tied for ninth. Four-time Atlantic Ten Conference Rookie of the Week Brandon Matthews struggled in his final tournament of the fall shooting a seven over score of 149, he tied for 12th. Senior Devin Bibeau rounded out the scoring with a 12-over par score which was good for a 24th place tie.

The Owls will now look forward to the spring season where they will look to put together some more consistent scoring from top to bottom. They will also welcome Montgomery County Community College transfer Matt Teesdale to the lineup.

-Anthony Bellino

Volleyball travels to Rhode Island

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After making a pit stop in New York City to dispose of/in a loss to Fordham, the Owls head farther up I-95 to visit Rhode Island in another Atlantic 10 Conference rematch Sunday.

In the first meeting this season between these two, Temple struggled in the early going but picked up the pace midway through the first set en route to sweeping the Rams 3-0. Junior outside hitters Gabriella Matautia and Elyse Burkert combined for 30 kills on 73 attempts.

Rhode Island has struggled since the two teams faced, with its only wins against the only winless programs in the A-10, La Salle and Charlotte.

A win for the Owls provides extra cushion as they try to stay in the top six of the conference for a berth in the A-10 Tournament.

The match is set to begin at 1 p.m.

–Jake Adams

Men’s soccer hosts No. 23 Saint Louis

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The men’s soccer team will face its most difficult test thus far in 2012 Sunday afternoon in Ambler.

No. 23 St. Louis comes in with a 10-3 overall record and a conference record of 4-1. Temple is coming off a 3-3 draw that it should have won. Butler stormed back with three goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation thanks to a lackadaisical Temple approach. Coach Dave MacWilliams said the Owls were “patting themselves on the back” after they scored their third goal.

“We can’t turn back. It’s over and done with,” MacWilliams said. “We just gotta focus on what’s ahead of us. We can’t change what happened. It’s in the record books and we gotta move forward.”

St. Louis is coming off four consecutive Atlantic 10 Conference victories. Their only conference loss came against No. 13 Xavier.

The Billikens’ potent attack is led by sophomore forward Robbie Kristo and junior midfielder Alex Sweetin, who have 28 points between them.

After Friday’s disappointing outcome, the Owls look to bounce back and remain unbeaten at home, where they are 5-0-1. They are 7-4-3 overall and 3-0-2 in A-10 play. St. Louis is 3-2 on the road, but one of those losses were against a very solid Xavier team.

Sunday’s match will get started at 1 p.m. at the Ambler Sports Complex.

Women’s soccer plays on the road for last time this season

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The women’s soccer team will play its final road match of the regular season when the Owls take on Saint Louis Sunday at 1 p.m.

Along with the Owls last match on the road, it will also be the last time the Billikens play at home at Saint Louis’s Hernmann Stadium.

After falling 2-1 in the final three minutes of Friday’s loss to Butler, the Owls will look to play consistent the entire game without making simple mistakes, coach Matt Gwilliam said.

“We are just going to go out there and try to get the win,” Gwilliam said.

The Owls seem to share the same offensive struggles that the Billikens have, as Saint Louis has notched nine goals this season, while Temple has notched 10.

Saint Louis junior forward has led the Billikens this season with two goals, two assists, six points and 26 shots.

Temple will enter the match with a 5-10-2 record this season (2-4-0 Atlantic 10 Conference), while Saint Louis will begin play with a 3-8-4 record (1-3-2 A-10).

Both Saint Louis and Temple are in need of a win in order to remain in the hunt for the A-10 tournament, as the Billikens currently sit 14th in the standings, while the Owls are 12th in the A-10 of the 16 teams in the conference.

“We are trying to get as many wins as possible so every match counts right now,” freshman defender Paula Jurewicz said.

-John Murrow

Women’s rowing gets boat in Head of Charles Regatta

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The women’s rowing team will split itself between Boston and Philadelphia on Saturday. A single boat will be competing in the Head of the Charles Regatta in Boston, while the rest of the team will be racing to benefit the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation

According to new coach Rebecca Smith Grzybowski, the Head of Charles Regatta is one of the world’s premier rowing events, featuring thousands of competitors.

“Getting an entry into the Regatta is very competitive,” Grybowski said. “This year we managed to get an entry.”

The Owls will be entering a Club Four event which will run Saturday afternoon.

The lineup in Boston will include sophomore coxswain-Ellie Oken, senior stroke seat-Paige O’Sullivan, senior third seat Claudia Loeber, senior second seat Joanna Sutor, and junior bow Kara Carson.

As for the rest of the Owls, they will be participating in the Philadelphia Children’s Foundation 2.25 Regatta.  Proceeds will benefit the education of Philadelphia youth.

-Liam McKenna

Ice hockey regulars suspended after brawl

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The Mid-Atlantic Collegiate Hockey Association handed out suspensions to three key Temple ice hockey regulars Thursday as a result of a late-game brawl that broke out during the closing seconds of Temple’s 5-2 defeat at Rowan University last Saturday.

Junior forward Joe Pisko received the biggest blow with a six-game suspension pending a Temple appeal. Junior goalie Chris Mullen got slapped with a three-game ban due to getting into a scuffle with Rowan senior goalie Brien Bennett.

Freshman forward Jayson Marbach served his one-game suspension in Temple’s loss against Virginia Tech Friday night.

“The conference went back and reviewed it and handed out the penalty they felt was necessary,” Roberts said. “Anytime you have players taken out of the lineup you’re not going to agree with it.”

-Andrew Parent

Doubles compete in ITA’s Day 2

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Two doubles teams were in action today for the Owls at the USTA/ITA Atlantic Regional Championship Friday.

Senior Kacper Rams and sophomore Kristian Marquart won their first round match, defeating Old Dominion’s freshman Zvonimir Podvinski and junior Dante Terenzio 8-6. Coach Steve Mauro said Rams was hampered by an arm injury during the match. The injury should not prevent him from playing, Mauro said.

Sophomore Hernan Vasconez and freshman Hicham Belkssir lost their first round match 8-6 to the James Madison team of seniors Hugo Ramadier and Florent Sentenac. Vasconez normally plays with freshman Nicolas Paulus, but Paulus is nursing an injured neck, so Belkssir stepped in.

Marquart was the only Owl to play a singles match today. He fell to Ramadier 7-5, 6-4. Mauro gave Ramadier credit and said that he was very happy with Marquart’s fall season.

Saturday, Rams will play his first singles match of the tournament. He will face off against Longwood sophomore Daniel Elston in the second round of the main draw. Rams had a bye in the first round.

Rams and Marquart will battle the Virginia Tech team of sophomore Hunter Koontz and senior Trpimir Kujundzic in the second round of the doubles draw.

Mauro said that there will likely be consolation singles matches set up for Vasconez, Marquart, and Belkssir. Those matchups have not been determined.

-Evan Cross

Women’s soccer play at Butler under the lights

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The women’s soccer team will open its final road weekend of the regular season when the Owls take on new Atlantic 10 Conference opponent Butler Friday at 7 p.m in Indianapolis, Ind.

For the Owls, it will be their second game under the lights this season, as Temple dropped its first match 2-0 under the lights at Penn on Sept. 2. Along with playing under the lights, the Bulldogs will be honoring Breast Cancer Awareness Month with “Real Dawgs Wear Pink Night” at Butler.

“It is going to be a difficult game and Butler is a very good team,” coach Matt Gwilliam said. “But we are ready for the challenge.”

The Owls will enter Friday’s match with a 5-9-2 record, 2-3-0 in A-10 play, while Butler will open with a 8-4-3 record, 2-1-2 against A-10 opponents. In nine matches at home, Butler has compiled a 6-1-2 record, while Temple is 2-5-1 on the road this season.

“Butler is a very organized team, a very physical team, a mentally strong team, and they create a good atmosphere at home,” Gwilliam said.

“I am expecting for us to go out there and get the win,” freshman defender Paula Jurewicz said.

-John Murrow

Volleyball faces Fordham in the Bronx

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The Owls (14-7) head to the Bronx, N.Y. to take on Fordham (12-14) Friday, in a rematch of the Atlantic 10 Conference season’s second game.

Temple walked away from that match with a 3-0 sweep thanks to 23 total kills by junior outside hitters Gabriella Matautia and Elyse Burkert. The win pushed the team to 2-0 in the young conference season, but the Owls have since struggled of late, sitting at 4-3 in the A-10.

Temple is coming off back-to-back losses last weekend against Duquesne and George Washington, dropping them to the middle of the pack in the standings.

With a win Coach Bakeer Ganes and company could give themselves a cushion as they struggle to stay in the conference tournament hunt. A victory would keep the Owls in sixth in the standings, with a head-to-head tie-breaker over the Rams.

Fordham is also 4-3 in the A-10, and are also coming off back-to-back losses, being swept by Dayton and Xavier.

The match begins at 7 p.m.

-Jake Adams