Owls Unable to Tame Tigers At TSC on Wednesday Night

Written By: Morgan Killian-Moseley

Photo Courtesy Of: Mariah Speller

Temple’s Men’s Soccer had trouble from the jump, and it led to the Owls falling to the Memphis Tigers 2-0.

Memphis midfielder Toby McCallum got the Tigers off to a fast start, putting one past Temple keeper Liam Cummings in the 4^th minute. McCallum would have a pair on the night, getting his second goal off a rebound in the 20^th minute. 

The Owls were fighting off the back foot for virtually the entire match, getting very few offensive chances.  Early in the 2^nd half, the Owls looked to finally have a chance to get back into the match; but a shot off a set-piece just outside the 18-yard box in the 47^th minute by Luka Kozomara rang off the crossbar. Kyle Hellman also had a shot hit the frame in the closing seconds, but of course, Memphis had the game well in hand at that point.

“We didn’t do enough to create enough dangerous chances,” Temple head coach Brian Rowland said after the match.  “We knew Memphis was going to sit in and play for the counter, which they’ve done most of the season; we just didn’t show enough ball speed to be able to break them open or find the passes to break them open.” 

Rowland went on to state that there could be lineup changes in the near future, saying that when it came to adjustments, “…at this point I think everything’s on the table. Certainly, there’s opportunity for guys to compete more, care more, work hard, I think we all have to take ownership in this situation; but at the end of the day we’re going to have to dig ourselves out and improve, it comes with hard work first and foremost and from there we’re going to have to show some more quality.”

Memphis managed 16 shots, six on-target with Cummings stopping four of them. Tigers goalkeeper Colin Welsh didn’t have to work hard for his first clean sheet of the season, as the Owls only managed six shots for the match, two on-target.

This was Memphis’ first conference win of the season, as they improved to 1-2 in the American Athletic Conference, 2-6-1 overall. They will face the UCF Knights in Orlando, FL on Sunday, Oct. 3.  As for the Owls, this was their fourth consecutive loss; dropping them to 0-3 in conference play, 1-4-2 overall. Temple has been outscored 12-3 during the four-game skid. 

Things won’t get any easier for the last-place Owls, as they face the 12^th ranked SMU Mustangs in Dallas, TX on Sunday. SMU already handed the Owls a 4-1 drubbing on Sept. 18^th when the Mustangs came to the Temple Sports Complex.