The sophomore beat 49ers goalkeeper Gavin Dawson to clinch the victory, set up by a downfield pass from freshman Will Mayhew.
Charlotte tied the contest in the 88th minute after trailing since the 17 minute, 39 second mark. Sophomore Donnie Smith capped a late offensive surge in the closing minutes of regulation to force overtime.
The Owls took an early lead on Vaughn Spurrier’s third goal of the season, capitalizing on a deflection just inside the box.
The 49ers racked up 24 shots in the contest compared to Temple’s seven. Charlotte scored once on eight shots on net, while the Owls netted both their shots on net in the match.
Temple’s early goal forced the 49ers to play catch up for the majority of the game and the Charlotte offense rushed the net in the closing minutes of regulation, trying to force overtime.
Though the 49ers were handed their first loss in Atlantic 10 play, they remain atop the conference standings.
The Owls (6-8, 4-3 A-10) return to action on Friday night against George Washington, while Charlotte (11-5, 6-1 A-10) hosts Massachusetts.
SLU tops SJU
Three first half goals lifted Saint Louis past Saint Joseph’s, 3-0, on Sunday.
Christian Briggs scored the Billikens’ first goal in the third minute off a corner kick by Jon Roeckle.
SLU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the sixth minute, providing all the insurance it would need. Chad Vandegriffe scored the first goal of his career on a deflection by teammate Jake Brown.
The Billikens kept pouring it on, making the score 3-0 eleven minutes later. Alex Johnston fed Devon Newport in the penalty area, blasting a shot past SJU goalkeeper Michael Moulton.
Mark Pais earned his third shutout of the season, saving the only two shots on net against him.
Yiannys Degermentzidis replaced Moulton in net for the Hawks for the second half of play, tallying three saves.
The SLU defense never afforded SJU an opportunity to mount a comeback, limiting the Hawks to six total shots compared to the Billikens’ 11.
SLU remains unbeaten at home and has surrendered only two goals in those contests.
Saint Joseph’s painful season continues, suffering its 13th loss and sixth in conference play.
The Billikens earned their second consecutive 3-0 win after defeating Temple by the same score on Friday.
SLU (7-6, 4-3 A-10) hosts Rhode Island and UMass this weekend while the Hawks (2-13, 1-6 A-10) welcome Richmond and George Washington to close out their season.
A-10 weekly awards
La Salle’s Ryan Sepe and Xavier’s Luke Spencer were chosen as the A-10 Players of the Week, while Duquesne’s Simon Gomez and St. Bonaventure’s Emmett O’Connor received Rookie of the Week honors.
Sepe earned his first multi-goal game of the season, scoring two goals in the Explorers’ 4-2 win over Rhode Island on Friday. The win marked the first over URI in the program’s history.
Spencer netted two goals against Dayton in the closing minutes of play, resulting in a 2-1 triumph in XU’s final regular season home game.
Gomez tallied one goal and three assists over the weekend, resulting in two Duquesne victories. The freshman led the Dukes to a 2-1 victory over Richmond with a goal and an assist. The forward has earned Rookie of the Week honors on three other occasions.
O’Connor recorded five points this weekend in St. Bonaventure’s perfect weekend of play. The freshman forward netted two goals in the Bonnies’ 3-1 win over GWU. The Ajax, Ontario native followed up that performance with a game-winning assist against Richmond.
A-10 teams begin their final games of regular season play this weekend.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected].
