Oct. 5, 2013
Final Stats
CHICAGO - Junior Sammy Gage's 35th minute goal wasn't enough tonight as the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team fell, 2-1, in double overtime to Missouri State at Loyola Soccer Park. Molly Brewer scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes to play in the second session of overtime.
"It's definitely disappointing to drop the three points at home," commented Loyola head women's soccer coach Barry Bimbi. "We came out, scored the first goal and had a couple opportunities to get the second to put the game away but couldn't find it. Now we'll just need to get back to the drawing board and find the right combinations to help the girls hit their stride again."
Both sides caught a major break before the referee had even started play. Consistent and, at times, heavy rains subsided just ten minutes before kickoff, leaving the two teams with a cool evening on Chicago's north side.
The Bears came out in aggressive fashion, firing the game's first three shots. Junior Allison Shimer looked to have put Loyola ahead in the 33rd minute following fellow junior Valerie Gonyo's free kick, only to see her goal disallowed due to being offside.
Less than two minutes later, Gage put Loyola on the board. Coming off a Missouri State foul just across midfield, freshman Shelby Koch sent a ball into the box. Senior Tricia Stonebraker deflected the ball over to Gage who put her shot by Missouri State goalkeeper Jessica Perry for her fourth goal of the season. The St. Charles, Ill. product looked to secure the brace five minutes later, only to see Perry save her attempt.
A fantastic opportunity presented itself in the final thirty seconds of the opening half. Junior Moriah Schwarz snuck inside the 18-yard box but fired just over the crossbar. Loyola headed into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead, despite being outshot 5-3 by the visitors from Springfield, Mo.
Schwarz again threatened to open the second half but watched her shot barely go wide of the near post in the 50th minute. The Bears leveled the game at 1-1 in the 61st minute when Shelby Stewart pounded a shot past junior goalkeeper Monica Gonyo. Seconds earlier, Gonyo denied Molly Huber, only to see Stewart clean up the rebound at the near post.
As the second half wore on, chances began to arise for both sides. The best of the bunch fell to freshman Hailey Merrill. Following another free kick from Gonyo, the Edina, Minn. native headed an attempt that ended up going directly into Perry's grasp. The two teams headed to overtime after a spirited 90 minutes.
Schwarz and Merrill both had chances in the first overtime but were unable to convert for Loyola. Stonebraker had a shot sail over the crossbar early in the second overtime before Brewer sent the vast majority of the crowd home unhappy in the 109th minute when she scored at the near post following a scramble in the box after the ball was delivered in off a free kick. With tonight's victory, Missouri State moves to 2-0-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play while the Ramblers fall to 1-1-0.
Loyola will hope to rebound from tonight's loss when it hosts IPFW on Wednesday, October 9 in Rogers Park. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Loyola Soccer Park.
