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COLLEGE FIELD HOCKEY: Wildcats Edge Out Owls in Double OT Thriller

By Morgan Killian-Moseley Photos: Geanine Jamison, 09/24/22, 10:15PM EDT

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Villanova Tops Temple, Temple Defeats La Salle Earlier in the Week

Photos: Geanine Jamison

By: Morgan Killian-Moseley

CONSHOHOCKEN, PA – A Big East field hockey battle between two Big 5 rivals came down to the second overtime, where a well-placed deflection lifted the Villanova Wildcats to a 3-2 win over the Temple Owls.

It was Temple who started on the offensive, as McKenna Burkhardt was able to take advantage on a penalty corner setup from Tess Muller and knock one past Nova keeper Emma Leppert for her fifth goal of the year 5:12 into the first quarter. But with 2:16 left in the quarter, Villanova’s Emma Schwarz was able to deliver the equalizer as she put back her own rebound past Temple goalie Molly Frey for her first marker of the season.


Villanova remains undefeated at home, with its latest Big 5 victory against No. 24 ranked Temple - Photo by Geanine Jamison

Less than a minute into the second quarter, Burkhardt put the Owls back on top 2-1 with her second goal of the game and team-leading sixth of the year. Muller had an assist on this goal as well, as did Annie Judge. Once again, however, Nova had a late quarter response as Noor Van de Laar notched her first tally of the campaign with 3:12 remaining in the half, tying the score at 2-2.

Temple had a major opportunity to take home the victory late in the fourth quarter, as Villanova sophomore Anne Drabbe was sent off on a five-minute yellow card penalty.  But the Owls could not take advantage of the extended power play, and overtime ensued.

In the first OT period, Muller had a chance on the breakaway but was denied by Leppert. In the second extra session, another Temple breakaway chance occurred for Devin Kinzel.  Kinzel could not retain possession long enough for support to arrive, and the Wildcats rallied to take it away. On the ensuing counter rush, Nova’s Sabine de Ruijter fired on net from just outside the attacking circle looking for a deflection.  Maggie Mick delivered that deflection for the game-winner (as confirmed by video replay), her third goal of the year.

Villanova head coach Joanie Milhous praised her team’s perseverance on the defensive end.

“I think our players were playing with a lot of confidence, they weren’t giving up, they kept taking it to them. I thought we were really good defensively today, had really good body positioning, and did a really good job on our double teams,” said Milhous.


Villanova junior captain, Meghan Mitchell (Academy of Notre Dame) - Photo by Geanine Jamison

Wildcat junior captain Meghan Mitchell, a local standout from Academy of Notre Dame de Namur, echoed her coach’s statements.

“I would say the main deciding factor was us continuing to attack for the whole overtime period. I was really proud of how our team never let up which gave us an opportunity to score and win,” said Mitchell.

Temple head coach Michelle Vittese gave her opponents credit while noting why the Owls came up short.

“We tried to go through them too much… We were just getting bodied off the ball pretty easily, we have to manage that. We got loose in some areas; the way that they played, it was challenging for us to manage,” said Vittese. 

Frey noted that the Owls had to tighten up in the last five minutes of quarters. 

“We need to stay disciplined for the full sixty; come out strong and just keep going with it, and not relax after a goal goes in… Once we’re up in a quarter we’re kind of like ‘OK, we can calm down for a bit’, but instead we need to remain disciplined,” said Frey.

Both teams fired 12 shots, with 10 Temple shots being on target compared to seven for Villanova. The Wildcats had the advantage in the penalty corner battle, earning six to the Owls’ five. Leppert was a key piece to the Wildcats’ victory, making eight saves. Frey made four saves in a strong effort in defeat.

Villanova climbs to 6-2, while Temple drops to 7-2; with both teams now standing at 1-1 in the Big East. Both teams will be looking to take down City 6 rivals and maintain unblemished home records Sunday afternoon, as the Wildcats will face the La Salle Explorers while the Owls will play the Penn Quakers in the first of a four game homestand.  

Earlier in the week.... Temple Tops La Salle

Temple’s field hockey team is looking like the best thing going on North Broad these days, and they continued their winning ways on Sunday afternoon with a 2-0 win over City 6 rival La Salle.

Senior forward Caitlyn Amsden got the scoring with her first goal of the season, as she was able to gain a rebound off her own shot and knock it past Explorer keeper Ryan Curley with less than 7 minutes left in the first quarter.

Just over two minutes into the second quarter, last season’s leading scorer for the Owls, sophomore midfielder Julianne Kopec, retook her position atop the team leaderboard with her fifth goal of the season off a penalty corner.

That would be all the Owls would need as their defense would not allow a shot on goal until 7:22 left in the game, as La Salle backliner Sofia Pla finally forced Temple senior keeper Molly Frey to make a save. Frey only needed to make 1 more stop on her way to her fourth shutout of the season.

Frey was quick to point out the total team effort by the Owls on the defensive end, giving her backliners credit for keeping shots from even getting to her. 

“They make my job easy… them keeping the ball out of the circle makes my job so much better and I am so thankful to have their support,” said Frey who went on to credit Owls goalkeeping coach Leah Settipane for her role in Frey’s performance this season.

Temple head coach Michelle Vittese pointed out that both she and her players knew there was still room to improve, but the team was jelling quite well.

“At the end of the game, regardless of the outcome, we need to talk about some of the things we need to work on.  What can we learn from this? We talked about a couple of those things, they identified them in front of me, so that’s good to know. But I think they’re just getting smarter and more connected; they love each other a lot and they play for each other,” said Vittese.

Penalty corners have been a key aspect of the Owls’ game plan since Vittese became head coach at the start of last season.  So, it was a relief for Temple to see center back Nienke Oerlemans, the team’s penalty corner specialist, back on the field even in limited capacity after she missed Friday’s comeback win against Quinnipiac with a leg injury.

The Owls outshot the Explorers 10-4, with 7 Temple shots being on target compared to 2 for La Salle. The Explorers did have a 4-3 edge on the Owls in penalty corners. Curley made 5 saves in the losing effort for La Salle.