Sept. 21, 2007

Final Stats

Green Bay, Wis. - Sophomore Cynthia Morote-Ariza netted two goals and assisted on a third to lead Loyola to a come-from-behind, 3-2 win tonight over Green Bay in the Horizon League opener for both teams on a blustery and soggy night at Santaga Stadium in Green Bay, Wis. The Ramblers improve to 3-5 (1-0 Horizon) with the win and keep the Phoenix winless (0-7, 0-1) on the year.

Morote-Ariza got the Ramblers on the board early, as a threaded pass from Jackie Vera put the sophomore behind the defense and she made no mistake to beat the Green Bay keeper to give LU a 1-0 lead after just 10 minutes. The Ramblers had the better of play in the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Phoenix, 11-1.

The high winds that were on display during the first half turned into storms in the second half, with the teams forced to vacate the field after 58 minutes. After a 45 minute delay, it was Green Bay that came out the stronger of the sides, evening the match shortly after the restart on a Christy Logan goal in the 61st minute and taking the lead on a Meghan McKenzie blast that went in off the far post in the 75th minute. However, Loyola did not fold and it leveled the match minutes later. This time it was Morote-Ariza setting up Vera, who one-touched a cross into the net from five yards to even the match at 2-2 in the 79th minute. Determined not to be extended to overtime, the Ramblers found the game-winner minutes later, with Katie Heidenreich setting up Morote-Ariza for her fourth goal of the season in the 82nd minute.

Loyola looks to put together consecutive wins for the first time this season when it battles Eastern Illinois on Sunday afternoon at Loyola Soccer Park. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.