The GW men’s soccer team could not hold onto an early lead Sunday, falling at Temple 3-1 two days after tying St. Joseph’s 0-0 in double-overtime. With three conference games remaining, the Colonials (5-10-1, 3-4-1 Atlantic 10) have a tough road ahead in their quest to repeat as A-10 Champions.

They likely need to win all three remaining games and receive help to become one of six teams to qualify for A-10 Tournament. GW is currently in seventh place behind sixth-place Massachusetts (10-5-1, 4-3-1 A-10). Of the teams left on GW’s schedule, Richmond is the only one with a winning record. LaSalle and Fordham, their other opponents, are sub-.500 teams that sit below GW in the standings.

“We’re still in it,” junior midfielder Matt Miller said after Sunday’s loss. “These next three games are going to be battles. If we play as a team and avoid making mental mistakes we’ll be fine. We know we can win.”

In Sunday’s game, GW took the lead in the 23rd minute on sophomore Jon Allen’s first goal of the season. The Colonials’ defense preserved the one-goal advantage until just under a minute left in the half, when Tony Donatelli scored for Temple to tie the game 1-1.

Temple’s Nate Webb proved to be the difference, scoring two goals in the second half to give the Owls a 3-1 victory.

“We were awesome in the first half, going up 1-0,” Miller said. “The ball just didn’t bounce our way in the second half after giving up the lead.”

Sophomore Derek Biss continued his strong play for GW in goal, making 14 saves in the loss.

The Colonials began the weekend Friday in Philadelphia by tying St. Joseph’s 0-0 in a grueling double overtime contest.

GW out-shot the Hawks 14-10 but could not find the net after 110 minutes of play. Both goalkeepers were solid. The Colonials’ Derek Biss had six saves and the Hawks’ Kevin Dougher had seven saves.

Both teams had chances at the end of the second overtime period as well. For his final save of the night, Biss made a diving stop on a point blank shot by the Hawks’ Joe Grayauskie and GW freshman forward Joseph Siegel attempted two shots in the final six minutes of overtime only to be denied both times.

Miller described the game as a physical slugfest because of the Astroturf at St. Joseph’s but said the tie was a result of the Colonials’ hard work.

The Colonials begin their crucial final stretch at 2 p.m. Friday against Fordham at the Mount Vernon Athletic Complex. They then host La Salle Sunday at 1 p.m.