Alyssa Delp's Hat Trick Leads Field Hockey to 4-2 Win at Monmouth

Friday, September 18

West Long Branch, N.J.

3:00 p.m.

Temple University

(3-4)

Monmouth

(2-5)

Temple

Monmouth

Senior Alyssa Delp

Photo by: Joseph V. Labolito/Temple University

Alyssa Delp's Hat Trick Leads Field Hockey to 4-2 Win at Monmouth

9.18.15 | Field Hockey

Box Score

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Behind the first career hat trick for senior Alyssa Delp, the Temple field hockey team earned a 4-2 road win at Monmouth (2-5) on Friday afternoon. The Owls (3-4) broke a halftime tie with two second-half goals, including the third for Delp who now has a team-leading seven on the season.

Temple kept the ball in its offensive half for much of the game, evidenced by the nine penalty corners earned by the Owls compared to two for the Hawks. On a hot afternoon, Temple's deep bench proved extremely valuable as the Owls used six extra players while Monmouth used just one.

"Everyone has a role on our team," said Temple head coach Marybeth Freeman. "I've said that from the first day I was here, that everyone is going to have opportunities. I think they've really embraced that philosophy. They understand that it takes a village. I was happy to see the contributions that our bench was able to make...it was a full collaborative effort today."

Temple had more shots overall, but each team finished with seven on goal. Temple goalkeeper Haley Mitchell made some critical second-half saves and finished with five to get the win in the cage. Freeman was complimentary of the backfield unit as a whole, while also signaling out the play of Delp and sophomore Ashley Kucera.

"I definitely want to mention the play of our backfield today," she said. "Taylor Shronk had a very good game. I thought Rachel Steinman made some good plays under pressure. They stepped up as a unit collectively which is great to see. Delp was an absolute force. She was focused and led very well today. Ashley did a great job as well, intercepting and being dynamic with the ball."

Delp was first on the scoreboard 11 minutes into the game, scoring on a strong shot from the top of the circle to put Temple in the lead. Monmouth's Cori Allen answered three minutes later on a penalty corner goal, and Allen went on to give the Hawks a lead not long after. In the 18th minute, a turnover on the Owls led to a quick drive down the field for Monmouth. Allen put a shot through the legs of Mitchell and put the Owls in a 2-1 hole.

Temple was able to keep itself on offense for most of the way down the stretch of the first half, and the Owls earned a few penalty corners for their efforts. What looked to be a goal for Sarah Deck on a corner was deemed too high for the initial shot. Subsequent shots on corners can hit the goal netting, but the first shot must hit the 18-inch board at the bottom of the cage in order to be counted.

With less than six minutes to go in the half, Temple's aggressiveness on offense paid off. In a scramble after a corner, Delp got the ball on a rebound and scored to tie the game, 2-2.

The tie stood at halftime, with Temple earning five corners to Monmouth's two in the opening period, and out-shooting the Hawks 7-6. Both goalkeepers made two first-half saves.

The score remained tied through nearly 20 minutes of action in the second half. With just over 15 minutes remaining, Delp completed the hat trick and scored the game-winner off an assist from Deck on a corner.

It was Deck who gave the Owls an insurance goal just a few minutes later. Junior Ali Meszaros collected the ball on a corner and passed to Deck on the left side, who took a shot from the top left of the circle and put it past Monmouth goalkeeper Christen Piersanti.

"I was really happy to see that at halftime we were able to make the adjustments," said Freeman. "We came out in the second half and really focused on our fundamental skills. I think we did a great job putting pressure on Monmouth, I think our transition also helped us through our midfield, and making open front-field opportunities was critical."

Temple will face its fourth Top 20 team of the season in its next game, as the Owls get set to host #12 Northwestern on Sunday at noon.

Box Score (PDF)