PROVIDENCE, RI – Following Temple’s thrilling, double overtime win over Old Dominion on Friday, back Alize Maes said the Owls were going to play with a nothing-to-lose mentality heading into Temple’s Big East field hockey championship game against UConn Sunday.

Temple, led by three seniors in Maes and midfielders Tess Muller and Devin Kinzel, did indeed play loose to begin the game. However, the loose play ended when UConn broke through in the third quarter on a goal by forward Julia Bressler.

Temple never recovered from the goal and desperately sent shots toward the net the rest of the way in an attempt to tie the game. And even when the Owls earned three penalty corners during the last 90 seconds of the game, UConn goalkeeper Natalie McKenna lived up to her Big East Goalkeeper of the Year billing and stuffed each shot.

When the dust settled, Temple was on the receiving end of a 1-0 loss in the Big East title game.

“We wanted to put high press on them today and pressure on their back line,” Kinzel said. “Their backline is all freshmen and one fifth year, so we scouted that. I think we did a really good job of pressing. We outshot and out-cornered them. It's just a matter of capitalizing, and we just couldn't finish it today.”

Temple’s defense has been its strength all season, and it held a Huskies offense that scored 61 goals all season in check for much of the first half. UConn (17-3, 6-1 American Athletic Conference) applied relentless pressure, living in the Owls’ circle, but the Huskies couldn’t come up with a goal.

While Temple’s seniors have often led the way, it was the Owls’ depth that held UConn at bay for much of the afternoon.

Midfielder Augustina Tucceri catapulted the Owls (12-8, 5-2 AAC) into the championship game with her goal in the second overtime period against Old Dominion, and her defensive prowess held UConn in check. The junior was all over the defensive end, earning four steals in the first quarter and ended the first half with five.

UConn’s offense only sent two shots toward Temple goalkeeper Isabella Ospitale, but the Owls’ defense stood tall each time. Huskies midfielder Lila Browne ripped a shot five minutes into the game, but it was wide of the goal. UConn forward Sophie Pershck had a shot of her own eight minutes later, but Ospitale stepped in front to spoil the scoring chance.

Despite Temple’s defensive performance, there was only one problem – UConn’s was just as good.

The Huskies gave the Owls little to no breathing room for much of the first half, with Temple never recording a shot in the first half of play. The Owls did have some chances but still couldn’t capitalize.

Temple midfielder Catherine Arentz hauled in a pass from back Minke Stroker, but the chance was ruined soon after. Arentz lost control of the ball and Temple handed possession right back to the Huskies without a shot to show for it.

That was the trend for Temple throughout the entirety of the first half. The Owls found themselves in the circle on numerous occasions but couldn’t challenge McKenna. Luckily for them, UConn never took advantage of the dormant offense and both teams went into halftime tied at zero.

“We made a few mistakes, but that can happen,” Muller said. “I think we had each other's backs today.”

When Temple came out of halftime, it was like an entirely different Owls team.

Temple sent five shots Mckenna’s way, and Muller, who had become the face of the program during her four seasons on North Broad Street, led the surge. Muller fired off a shot four minutes into the second and followed up nearly a minute later with another.

Neither attempt found its way to the back of the net and UConn finally capitalized. After keeping pace for much of the game, Temple’s defense finally cracked when the Huskies landed a penalty corner just three minutes into the second half.

The Owls fended off the initial corner, but back Lina Nielson stepped in front of Ospitale to draw a penalty stroke for the Huskies. Opsitale made a diving save just a minute earlier but couldn’t deny Bressler’s shot, and UConn snatched the lead.

“I think there was definitely some change in like mindset for some reason,” Muller said. “We were letting them get into our T-25 a little bit more. I think towards the end, we definitely made sure that we were able to get those balls forward again.”

Temple’s offense continued to find its footing the rest of the way and ended the day outshooting the Huskies. The Owls sent nine shots compared to UConn’s five, but none were able to knot the game.

Temple also got the advantage in the penalty corners with five, with all coming in the second half, but none of them led to goals.

“I think it may have been more of like a corner call on our end,” Kinzel said. “Like, maybe we're calling the wrong thing and we needed to call something to go around them instead of through them.”

In the end, the Owls’ inconsistent offensive play came back to bite them. Temple needed a fourth-quarter goal by Neilson to send them to overtime and eventually the Big East Championship game, but the Owls couldn’t replicate that late-game magic Sunday.

Temple has an outside opportunity of making its first NCAA Tournament in 32 years, but chances are its eight losses are too much for the committee to overlook.

The Owls now head into the offseason looking to retool after losing seven seniors and will need the depth that helped them get to this point to step up to make another run.

“This team was very different from what it is now,” Muller said. “I hope that we were able to contribute to that. We really tried to change the team culture a little bit, and I think we've definitely succeeded.”

Front page photo by Oliver Lois Economidis