Philadelphia, PA — Monmouth withstood a late comeback from hosting Temple Friday afternoon at Temple Sports Complex to secure a 4-2 win in its first road matchup of the season.
"I was really proud of the resiliency," said Hawks coach
Carli Figlio. "We started really strong with two goals, then having them tie the game was a real test for us. It's something that we needed to see as a team that we need to continue to play to our principals. I'm really proud not just of the resiliency from that aspect, but we really played to our principals, and everybody did their job. I'd rate this win as a very important win for us."
The Hawks (4-2 overall) were led by sophomore midfielder
Alicia Vanderlyde who tallied a career-high four points on two goals and an assist on the day. She helped create the corner that led to her game-opening goal. With about two minutes left in the first period, Vanderlyde won the ball off the press and pushed up the field toward junior forward
Stella Goddard-Despot who was 1-v-1 with Owls goalie Alex Lepore just inside the top of the circle. Lepore lunged to win the ball but took the feet of Goddard-Despot in the process, leading to a whistle for a penalty stroke. After review, however, the play was deemed as a corner instead and Monmouth took advantage.
Hawks freshman defender Maja
Schröder inserted to
Luisa Schlueter atop the circle, who set a pass for Vanderlyde. The Wechelderzande, Belgium native then swung and buried her shot underneath the legs of Lepore for the game's first goal.
"I'm so happy for her. She's worked so very hard," said Figlio of Vanderlyde. "She's the type of player that you want to absolutely root for. I think that spark [from the second line], she was it. She was absolutely relentless pressuring the ball and that changed everything for us. We are a team that reacts when we pressure and that's what we've talked about this entire week of even if we're down, if we start pressuring the ball we'll eventually ride that momentum wave back into a better position."
Gallery: (9-11-2026) Field Hockey v Temple 9/11/26
Monmouth quickly doubled the lead just 30 seconds later, as Vanderlyde won a tackle and kept the ball in play down the sideline. She then whipped a pass across to the back post for
Schröder whose initial shot was blocked but stuck with the play and knocked in her first career goal to push the Hawks up, 2-0.
"She's very creative and sees the field really well," said Figlio of
Schröder. "Her being a freshman and her adapting to our press and our structure — because to be a good player is one thing, but to be able to play inside the system and create as much attack and defend the way she does is outstanding."
Monmouth ended the first 15 minutes up by two, but the Owls came out and won the following quarter to tie the match at 2-2 entering halftime. Undeterred, the Hawks regrouped in the second half and dominated play, continuing to work the ball into their offensive 25.
Maia McCourt was the x-factor on the outside, as the sophomore continued creating chances within the circle and was critical in Monmouth's press.
"She's capital F fast and another one that's super relentless and has that fight in her," Figlio said of McCourt. "It's great because she empties the tank and we have to get her off a little bit sooner so she can go back on and be at a different level, but she really pours her soul out onto the field and that's all a coach can really ask for. She creates so much for us."
The pressure the Hawks continued putting on Temple's backline created havoc in the hosts defensive half and eventually, Monmouth capitalized. The ball was initially won back by
Hannah Tromble who played a ball inside the circle. The Owls struggled to clear with Vanderlyde in the right spot to strike the go-ahead goal into the back of the net with 10 minutes still to go in the third quarter.
Although the game remained at 3-2 for nearly the duration, the Hawks had their stick on the ball for most of the final 25 minutes of play. They generated eight penalty corners in the stretch and didn't allow anything threatening inside their defensive circle. Still trailing by one, Temple was forced to pull Lepore with two minutes left in the game and the Hawks stood their ground.
Claire Campen then put the finishing touches as she received a pass long and got her shot to go just before the final whistle sounded to solidify the 4-2 score.
Monmouth held the advantage in shots (14-7) and shots on goal (9-5), while also generating more corners, 8-3. The Hawks defense held Temple to just two shots and no penalty corners in the second half.
Charlie Bowman anchored the defense in goal and finished with three saves in the win.
Offensively, the Hawks were led by their bench, highlighted by Vanderlyde who set a career-best with two goals and an assist on two shots.
Schröder, also had a career day with a goal and an assist off the bench.
Monmouth is back in action Sunday, hosting Wagner on So Sweet A Cat Field at 12 p.m.
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