Sept. 4, 2009
Final Stats
AMBLER, Pa. - Temple built a two goal advantage midway through the second half and then withstood a ferocious Villanova rally to post a 2-1 victory over the Wildcats (1-1) in a Philadelphia Soccer Six contest played here on Friday afternoon.
"I thought we weren't as sharp as we would have liked to have been in the first half," stated Villanova head coach Tom Carlin. "Temple's a good team and they kind of took it to us. They got some loose balls and had great energy. We battled back in the second half and created some chances but we just couldn't overcome our start."
Villanova goalkeeper Chris Bresnahan made a good save in the game's fourth minute on Francois Sagna to keep the Owls off the board. He came sliding across the right side of the net to block a shot that appeared ticketed for the lower corner of the net.
But Sagna made the most of his next chance at 11:27. Sagna took a feed from JT Noone and dribbled in on Bresnahan and managed to chip a ball over the goalkeeper's head and into the net to give the Owls the early edge.
That's where the score remained at intermission. Temple owned a 5-4 edge in shots in the period and the 1-0 lead.
Villanova was crisper after the break and generated a series of quality chances. Freshman Kyle Soroka and junior Anthony "Jordy" Griffith both put pressure on the net with quality chances in the first 20 minutes of the period and nearly registered goals. But the Owls struck again before VU could connect as Tyler Witmer took a feed from Noone along the right side and blasted a brilliant shot from a sharp angle into the upper left corner of the net at 67:34 to give Temple a 2-0 lead.
The Wildcats pressed the issue further and broke into the scoring column at 75:16 off a scramble eight feet in front of the Owls goal. Senior Mike Seamon sent a ball that Matt Margiotta sent at the net. Temple goalkeeper Bret Mollon got a piece of the ball but could not stop it and the lead was narrowed to one.
Villanova kept the heat on until the final horn but never did get the equalizer.
"We had better energy and really battled in the second half," Carlin noted. "We're still a young team and still learning how to build on a big win like the one we had at Loyola (on Tuesday). Now, we need to learn from this and be ready to go on Monday against Penn. It's the kind of quick turnaround we'll have in the BIG EAST and you have to be able to quickly turn the page. It's something we've talked about and I'm sure our guys will respond."
Villanova hosts Penn in its home opener on Labor Day at 1:00 p.m.
