Men's Soccer Tops NJIT at Home, 3-1

Tuesday, October 17

Temple Sports Complex

3:00 p.m.

Temple University

7-6-1

NJIT

8-6-2

NJIT

Temple

Men's Soccer Tops NJIT at Home, 3-1

10.17.17 | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Video Highlights

PHILADELPHIA - In a non-conference match, Temple (7-6-1) earned a 3-1 victory over NJIT (8-6-2) at the Temple Sports Complex. The two teams were scoreless until the 40th minute, but the Owls eventually led 3-0 before the Highlanders scored in the final minutes of the contest.

Keys to the Match
> The Owls' first goal came from a stolen pass by junior Jordan Wix Rauch who did the rest himself, placing the ball in the bottom right corner with five minutes left in the opening half.
> The Owls struck again midway through the second half on a free kick outside of the box. Senior midfielder Divin Fula Luzolo played a low ball in to the feet of senior Brendon Creed who finished it in the lower left corner.
> Fula Luzolo notched another two points in the win when he scored on a short cross from sophomore Thibault Candia in the 72nd minute. Fula Luzolo was perfectly placed to finish the play and place the ball into the right side of the net.
> NJIT scored in the final minutes of play, on a strike from leading scorer Mamadou Guirassy from 20 yards out, assisted by Pabo Jimenez.

Match Notes
> Wix Rauch and Creed both scored their first goals of the 2017 campaign.
> Fula Luzolo scored his second goal of the season, while picking up his third assist.
> At goalkeeper, Michael Samnik added to his impressive 2017 campaign, coming up with five saves in the victory.
> Temple held strong defensively led by Mark Grasela and Creed. The Owls faced nine shots and defended six corner kicks.
> Guirassy scored his NCAA-best 15th goal for NJIT in its loss to the Owls.

Quotable
> "It was definitely a momentum builder," said Temple head coach David MacWilliams after the game. "I think we frustrated them today and our two guys in the back (Grasela and Creed) did a great job containing their big guy up top (Guirassy)."

Up Next
>Temple will host its last home game of the season on Saturday, Nov. 4 vs. USF with a 7 p.m. start time. The Owls will honor their seven seniors prior to the match for Senior Day.