Temple Men’s Soccer Win Foul Ridden Home Opener vs Penn State
The Temple Owls men’s soccer team defeated the (25)Penn State Nittany Lions 2-0 Friday afternoon at the Ambler Sports Complex in front of nearly 700 spectators in their home opener. The Owls matched their win total from last year and improved their record to 2-0-1 early in the 2015 campaign with their victory. Penn State dropped to 1-1-1 after the game.
Justin Stoddart scored the Owls opening goal and his first goal this season on a rebound just 26 seconds after receiving a yellow card. After a Penn State free kick, the Owls quickly regained possession and the ball found the feet of Carlos Moros Gracia. Moros Gracia’s shot was saved by Penn State goalkeeper Matt Bersano, however, Bersano couldn’t get back on his toes quick enough to stop Stoddart’s shot from finding the back of the twine.
“We thought it was one of the keys to the game to get on the board first,” Temple head coach David MacWilliams stated after the game. “Whatever team scored first was going to have the advantage because both teams defensively were pretty sound. We were fortunate to get the first goal early.”
Temple vs. PSU coin toss - PSD Photo
The Owls kept momentum and possession for the majority of the first half. The Owls dominated with eight total shots by halftime, compared to the Nittany Lions one.
The second goal of the game came for the Owls in the 56th minute off the foot of Jorge Gomez Sanchez. Gomez Sanchez scored his goal after an attempted clear by Bersano was blocked by Dinho Zwane and fell perfectly to his feet. The insurance goal gave the Owls breathing room to play out the final 34 minutes of the match. This was the second goal of the season for Sanzhez.
Alex Cagle finished the game with his second shutout of the season stopping all three Penn State shots on goal. Cagle improved his goals against average to 0.29 early in the season.
Both Penn State and Temple came out with a physical presence in the game, and the referees were not afraid to stop play. The Owls and Lions combined for nineteen fouls and seven yellow cards. Temple faced much harsher treatment however racking up five total yellow cards. Both Penn State head coach Bob Warming and Temple head coach David MacWilliams were upset about the calls.
“I definitely felt [the yellow card] wasn’t warranted,” said MacWilliams after the game. “I think my guys were aggressive but not to the point of five yellow cards. In the very first tackle of the game we get a yellow card, and I just didn’t think it was necessary or just. There might be one, maybe two, but, not five or six, I didn’t think it was right,” he concluded.
Owls during pre-game warm-ups - PSD Photo
“Physicality is probably one of the biggest parts of the college game,” Alex Cagle said after his performance. “If you’re not strong in the area you’re probably not going to do well,” he continued. “ I felt there were too many called fouls and definitely to many cards, I felt like the ref definitely needed to just let us play, [even though] it was a physical game,” concluded Cagle
Cagle was involved physically in a skirmish with Penn State transfer and former Temple player Robby Sagel during the game.