PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (UCFKnights.com) - For the second-straight conference match for UCF, 90 minutes wasn't enough time to decide a winner at Temple. The Owls clinched the victory Saturday in the 94th minute when Jorge Gomez Sanchez netted his 14 goal of the campaign at the Temple Sports Complex.
"It is a tough result to swallow. We did some really good things tonight and weathered a couple storms against Temple," head coach Bryan Cunningham said. "They were in a must-win situation and were throwing all kinds of numbers forward. I felt that our players handed it for the most part pretty well. We had our chances and thought that we could have finished one of them and put them on their heels a little bit."
The Knights (4-9-0) dropped to 2-4-0 in league play, while Temple (10-5-2) improved to 2-2-2 in The American.
CLOSE CALLS:
- Three goalposts were hit in the match.
- The Knights clanked one off the post in the 55th minute on an attempt by freshman Richard Amon following a cross by junior Matias Pyysalo.
- The Owls hit the post twice, off a penalty kick in 68th minute and on a shot in the 44th minute prior to halftime.
- Freshman Brian Jamba streaked down the left wing in the 79th minute and had a shot going towards the top corner, but the keeper made an out-stretched save.
MAKING SAVES:
- Freshman goalkeeper Matt Rosenberg recorded four saves in the match and faced a total of 19 shots.
- The Manalapan, N.J., also stopped the first penalty kick of his career to keep it scoreless.
- During the 22nd minute, Rosenberg dove and got a touch on a shot from just outside the box to keep it out.
- An early save during the eighth minute by Rosenberg enabled the Knights to settle into the match.
"As I told the players afterwards, unfortunately, we are going to miss those (three) points. But, we are still in the hunt to make the conference championship. We have to do our part against Cincinnati, get three points and hope we get some help."
- Head coach Bryan Cunningham
NEXT UP:
- UCF concludes the regular season at home on Nov. 5 against Cincinnati at noon.
- Seniors Phil Hicks, Javier Clavijo and Diego Bacellar will be recognized prior to the match.