When Seamus O’Connor entered the locker room after Temple’s 2-1 American Athletic Conference quarterfinal loss to Central Florida Tuesday in Dallas, Texas, he saw “a good mixture” of tears and laughter from his players.
The Owls’ (12-7-1, 4-4-1 The American) loss to the Knights marked their third straight first-round exit from The American’s conference tournament since joining the 10-team league in 2013.
“My message to them was, ‘You’re allowed to go to bed upset tonight, but tomorrow morning you have to wake up proud because you’re still amazing young women,’” O’Connor said. “We were over the game so, so quickly and the focus was just on what an amazing four years that these seniors have had.