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AMBLER, Pa. (SMU) - Claire Oates and Vanessa Valadez scored in SMU women's soccer's 3-2 loss at Temple Thursday at the Ambler Soccer Field.
The Mustangs are now 2-5-1 in American Athletic Conference play and 5-9-3 overall, with one match remaining in the regular season.
With 16 seconds left in the first half, the Mustangs' Paige Jacobs took a corner kick and Oates was fouled in the box, earning a penalty kick opportunity. Oates stepped up and put the ball in the net to give the Mustangs the 2-1 advantage.
The goal was set up by an errant pass from a Temple defender that was intercepted by Kelsey Gorney, allowing the Mustangs to control the ball in their offensive zone for the final minute. SMU took advantage of this as Taylor Barg sent an over-the-top pass to the edge of the box and Oates headed it toward Jacobs, who then crossed it off an Owl defender and out of play to earn the SMU corner.
Oates now has four goals on the season and ten for her career.
SMU took the early lead in the 20th minute when Blair Thorpe sent a cross to Valadez who headed the ball past the reach of the diving Temple goalkeeper. Valadez leads the Mustangs in goals with eight, and points with 20.
Temple scored via header in the first half, and the Owls' Erin Lafferty scored a pair of penalty kicks in the second period, which were the difference in the match. Temple improves to 3-4-1 in conference play and is 11-6-1 overall.
"We played hard, we competed hard and we fought to the end," SMU head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "There are no complaints about how we competed today."
The Mustangs conclude their regular season at Connecticut on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. CT in Storrs, Connecticut. Petrucelli said defense will be key to getting a good result at UConn.
"We're going to have to make sure we're solid on the back line," Petrucelli said. "How we play defensively is going to be important."
