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Owls must correct issues ahead of crucial games
Temple need to surpass offensive woes if they plan to advance to postseason.
BY JOHNNY ZAWISLAK Field Hockey Beat Reporter
The Temple Field Hockey (10-3, 3-1 The Big East Conference) defense is tied for 23rd in the country in defensive saves with three, sixth in shutouts with five, and 15th in goals allowed.
While the Owls’ defense has been stellar as of late, the offense has encountered some recent struggles that they must address if they hope to defeat tough opponents to qualify for the Big East tournament.
“We need to work on our connection between the three lines more in the circle, because we had like a lot of circle entries, and we just don’t score,” said freshman midfielder Agustina Tucceri. “Against Liberty, UConn and Old Dominion we need to make sure that we score the goals because if not, we’re not going to win.”
The offense started out strong, scoring 27 goals in their first eight games with an average of 3.3 goals per game, helping the Owls start out with a 7-1 record. In the five games since, the team has scored eight goals, averaging 1.6 goals per game, going 3-2 in that span.
In the Owls’ 1-0 win to Big East rival Georgetown (3-10, 0-4 Big East) they were awarded 15 total penalty corner attempts and were only able to convert on their second to last corner. While they outshot the Hoyas 22-1, they struggled finding the net for goals.
In the Owls’ losses to Villanova University (8-5, 1-3 Big East) and the University of Pennsylvania (3-8, 1-2 Big East) they struggled to capitalize on their multiple scoring opportunities due to a solid opposing defense, passing up on shots for an extra pass or forcing unnecessary turnovers.
The Big East has tough opponents, including Liberty University (8-4, 4-0 Big East Conference), University of Connecticut (8-4, 3-1 Big East), and Old Dominion (9-2, 3-1 Big East) all nationally-ranked within the top 25.
“I feel like it’s just the small details that have been a problem,” said sophomore midfielder Tess Muller. “I feel like we can upset every opponent going forward if we really connect and get those little things going.”
Only the top four teams in the conference will qualify for the Big East tournament, and with so many competitive squads, the Owls will need to play as a complete team if they plan on reaching the tournament.
“Conference play just continues to get more difficult,” said head coach Michelle Vittese. “We have a great conference, and especially this year I think there’s a lot of really great teams this year, so we just have to keep defending and doing our job defending as a unit.”
With the schedule only getting tougher and fewer games left to play, the Owls will need to convert their penalty corners more efficiently, like they were in the beginning of the season.
However, as the season progresses, more teams have film to scout the Owls’ plays for their penalty corner attempts making it more difficult to convert on them.
“Teams are starting to scout us on our corner attempts,” coach Vittese said. “Now it is just a matter of adapting, adjusting and executing what we can do.”
Coming off a crucial 2-1 conference win against Providence College (5-8, 2-1 Big East), the Owls showed that they still have room to improve if they plan on going toe-to-toe with UConn or Liberty, who lost the NCAA championship last year.
The Owls were awarded ten penalty corners and were not able to convert on any of them, due to miscues or bad entry passes that cannot be repeated in upcoming key matchups.
“That was uncharacteristic,” Vittese said. “I have to honestly go back, we’ll look at that and then we might have to kind of revisit some other ways to be successful going forward.”
The Owls will now travel to Lynchburg, Virginia, on Oct. 14 to take on Liberty at 4 p.m. and attempt to pull off the upset against the number one team in the Big East.
john.zawislak@temple.edu @JZawisBTB
CONTINUED FROM 24 VOLLEYBALL
Davenport has enjoyed the switch from middle to outside hitter, she said. She has taken a match-by-match approach in her training, and when her performances were sub-par, she continued to rely on the people around her for guidance.
“The transition was really fun,” Davenport said. “I really love to have my coaches and teammates behind me supporting me through it.”
After a disappointing loss to Wichita State University (8-7, 3-1 American) to start conference play for the Owls, Davenport was benched for the next two games after hitting -.167 percent and .048 percent in the first two games of conference play.
Davenport experienced a resurgence after returning to Philadelphia to play Temple’s first home games in a month, recording 24 kills and hitting .178 percent in their first conference win of the season against Tulane University (6-10, 1-4 American).
The team’s success has seen a visible improvement too, already reaching their win total from last year with seven victories in just 17 played so far this season.
The Owls needed a boost of offense to succeed this season and Davenport has been the most important piece for the Owls’ attack.
“She has been a leader for us as far as kills and getting kills,” Hampton-Keith said.
Even though Davenport has been the Owls’ main source of kills to begin the season, she is still trying to improve her play around the net as the year progresses, a quality evident to her teammates. “She just wants to be really good,” said sophomore outside hitter Jaaliyah Evans. “She just wants to be a good volleyball player.”
The Owls are currently 7-10 with a 1-5 conference record after a tough loss to the University of Cincinnati on Oct. 7, but this is only the beginning for the team as they attempt to achieve their goals of playing for a top conference seed.
If Davenport begins to play at a consistent level, she can be a huge piece for the Owls for years to come. But right now, the sophomore is looking to help the team in any way she can.
“I wanna be able to manage my shots and be a better hitter for my team and score points,” Davenport said.
ethan.briddell@temple.edu @ethanbriddell
PAGE 24
BY ETHAN BRIDDELL Volleyball Beat Reporter
Since joining Temple Volleyball last season, sophomore Taylor Davenport has transitioned from middle blocker to outside hitter, becoming an important component of the Owls’ success on the court. Davenport’s 279 kills lead the Owls this season, 108 more than second-place Jelena Prolic.
In 2021, Davenport was fourth in the American Athletic Conference in blocks with 126, led Temple with 1.14 blocks per set and broke the Owls’ single-game blocks record with 15. So as this season approached, head coach Linda Hampton-Keith’s decision to switch her position was a controversial decision.
“She’s not perfect, she’s still making mistakes,” Hampton-Keith said. “She’s going to be a force to be reckoned with, that’s for sure.”
This year, Davenport is more of an offensive threat than defensive one. She began the season as a second option but showed promise as she adjusted to becoming an outside hitter.
“Of course, when you start something new, of course you struggle,” Davenport said.
She tallied 17 kills in Temple’s first win of the season against the University of Delaware (10-5, 6-1 Colonial Athletic Association), showing her potential to become a key player in her role. She delivered a breakout performance against St. Francis College (7-14, 0-4 Northeast Conference) when she recorded 27 kills in a five-set match victory.
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SOPHOMORE FUELS OWLS’ RESURGENCE
Sophomore outside hitter Taylor Davenport has been a key piece in the Owls’ success since switching positions.
ERIKA MONN / THE TEMPLE NEWS
