Penn State men’s soccer (2-5-2, 0-2-0 Big Ten) fell to Temple (4-3-1) 3-0 on Wednesday night in an underwhelming road performance defined by Owls striker Thibault Candia’s two goals.
How It Happened
Penn State was caught on its heels early in the first half when Temple’s freshman forward Alan Camacho Soto fired a shot into the corner of Evan Finney’s goal in the third minute. The Owls continued to press, registering a series of quick shots that Finney and his defense were forced to block.
But the Nittany Lions conceded again in the 15th minute when Striker Thibault Candia collected a pass from midfielder Hermann Doerner and shot from the corner of the Penn State penalty box to record his third goal of the season.
Christian Sload came close to pulling a goal back for the Nittany Lions, but his two headed efforts, about 10 minutes apart from each other, missed wide and high respectively. Temple entered halftime with a commanding two-goal lead, outshooting the Nittany Lions 7-3 in the first 45 minutes.
The Owls’ momentum continued into the second half, when Candia scored his second goal of the match after beating Finney one-on-one.
Penn State struggled to gain a foothold against an aggressive Temple team that accumulated a total of 19 fouls over the course of the match. Shots from Callum Pritchatt, Ethan Beckford, and the newly-returned Pierre Reedy missed or were blocked by Temple’s goalkeeper Micheal Samnik, who tallied three saves overall.
Sload continued to threaten Temple’s lead, hitting the Owls’ crossbar with a quick shot in the 81st. Last-gasp efforts from center back Ryan Gallagher, Beckford and Mikey Conneh were off target as the Nittany Lions failed in their quest for a goal. Temple’s defense retained its shutout, and the Owls were victorious with a final score of 3-0.
Player Of The Match
Thibault Candia | Sophomore | Forward
The French forward’s two goals carried his team to dominant win.
What’s Next?
The Nittany Lions host Big Ten rival Michigan (5-2-2) on Sunday at Jeffrey Field.
