Aug. 25, 2006

Box Score

CHICAGO - Host Loyola (1-0) rallied from a first-half deficit to knock off Xavier (0-1), 2-1, tonight in the 2006 season-opener for both teams at Loyola Soccer Park. With the win, the Ramblers avenge a 3-0 loss to the Musketeers in last year's opening match.

"I think we played well in spurts tonight and I am very pleased that, even though we are a very young team, we were able to come back from 1-0 down to get the result against a good Xavier team," said head coach Frank Mateus. "Last year we would play well even when we were behind but often times we did not get the result in the end and tonight we were able to get that second goal. This is an extremely deep team and, as you saw tonight, when we brought on substitutes our level of play was as high, if not higher and that is a credit to some of the upperclassmen who came on and played very well."

Loyola opened the game strong and the freshman duo of Cynthia Morote-Ariza and Jackie Vera forced Xavier keeper Kelly Farrell into a sliding save after 12 minutes. Despite the early edge in play, the Ramblers could not dent the scoreboard and it was Xavier that struck first midway through the period. Angie Scarlato controlled a Karin Martini longball and sent an angled shot into the net in the 25th minute to give the Musketeers the lead. However, Loyola struck back and drew even before halftime. Good work by the LU forwards created a corner kick and Amy Lomas pounced on a loose ball and drove one into the lower-left corner in the 37th minute to tie the match.

The game remained deadlock until the 70th minute, when solid offensive pressure from the Ramblers resulted in a free kick just outside the box. Morote-Ariza stepped up and beat the keeper with the ensuing free kick for her first collegiate goal to give Loyola a 2-1 lead. The Rambler backline, with a pair of freshmen making their collegiate debuts, held strong the rest of the way to complete the victory.

Peick made three saves in the Rambler net en route to the win. Loyola enjoyed a slight 11-9 edge in shots and was able to negate a 4-2 Xavier advantage in corner kicks.

Loyola returns to action on Sun., Aug. 27, when it travels to take on Valparaiso at 3 p.m.