Soccer Sports

Soccer readies for Temple amid slump

Pfau with Team

The match against the Temple University Owls will determine if the Cougars can get their first conference victory in the bag. | File photo/The Cougar

After a rough 0-2 road trip, head coach Chris Pfau and his 5-3-1 Cougars will look to bounce back this Thursday against the 3-9 Temple University Owls.

First kick is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Carl Lewis Complex.

Soccer is now 0-2 in conference play and is still looking for their first American Athletic Conference victory. With a 3-1 record at home this season, the Cougars should have a good chance to capture the win before returning to the road next week.

The Cougars had a tough start to their conference play when they visited the University of Central Florida Knights. Soccer couldn’t find the stellar form they had in non-conference play and lost 4-0 to a superior team.

However, the Cougars bounced back and put up a strong fight against the top-25 ranked University of Southern Florida on Sunday. After conceding two early goals in the first 15 minutes of play, the Cougars got a goal back in the second half thanks to Vanessa Almaguer’s penalty kick.

Their efforts were not enough as the team would eventually drop the game 2-1.

Freshman keeper Nicole Young started both games as goalkeeper in place of transfer sophomore Rachel Estopare, who is recovering from a concussion.

Estopare’s status is unknown for Thursday, but having their starting goal keeper between the posts would greatly increase the Cougars’ chance of winning.

The Owls also hit a rough patch in its season. They will head to Houston losing seven out of their last eight games — including a current three-game losing streak.

It’s important that the Cougars win the games against the lower teams due to their 0-2 start in the conference.

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