Sept. 14, 2008

Final Stats

Lawrence, Kan. - Loyola took advantages of its chances and got goals on either side of halftime from Jackie Vera and Laura Trevillian in a 2-1 win over No. 18 Kansas this afternoon at the Jayhawk Soccer Complex in Lawrence, Kan. The win is Loyola's first-ever over a ranked opponent as the Ramblers improve to 3-5 on the year. The loss puts an end to Kansas' perfect run, dropping the Jayhawks to 5-1.

After seeing a couple of mistakes come back to haunt his team in a 3-1 loss to Northwestern on Friday night, head coach Frank Mateus reiterated his belief in his team to be successful against a strong non-conference schedule and his team showed that faith was justified with an efficient performance this afternoon.

Despite Kansas enjoying the better of play, it was Loyola that got on the board first, courtesy of its top two playmakers. Cynthia Morote-Ariza dissected the Kansas defense with a feed for Vera who finished neatly from 10 yards for her fourth of the season and a 1-0 LU lead after 29 minutes, a lead which the Ramblers took to intermission courtesy of three saves from freshman keeper Katie Groesch and one from the team.

The intensity of the match picked up midway through the second half, with three players going into the referee's book in a five-minute span. Just two minutes after the third yellow card, the Ramblers doubled their lead. Morote-Ariza received a throw-in in the offensive third of the field, found Cara Morawski on the flank who delivered a one-touch cross that Trevillian met with a diving header for her second goal in as many matches.

Kansas' Jessica Bush forced Groesch into another save immediately after the goal, as Loyola looked to kill off the final 27 minutes. The Jayhawks managed to pull one back in the 80th minute on a penalty kick after a handball in the box but solid defending in the last 10 minutes secured the win.

Loyola returns to action next Friday evening with a 6 p.m. match against Ball State at Loyola Soccer Park.