Final Stats

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - A pair of goals inside a two-minute span in the first half sent IPFW to a 2-1 victory over the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team this afternoon at the Hefner Soccer Complex in Fort Wayne, Ind. The Mastodons improve to 2-7-0 with the win, while the Ramblers fall to 3-7-0.

Both teams came out attacking on a windy day in northern Indiana. Mayson Whitman headed high of goal in the fifth minute for the hosts before Jessica Bean notched the Ramblers' first shot of the day when she fired wide shortly after. Whitman forced a save out of goalkeeper Monica Gonyo in the 15th minute but would not be denied on her next attempt when she ripped a shot into the upper right corner of the net to put IPFW on top, 1-0, in the 27th minute. Kassidy Simpkins doubled the Mastodon lead 90 seconds later when she connected with a pass from Kallianne Mogler, who also assisted on the first goal, and turned her shot past Gonyo to make it 2-0. Hailey Merrill hoped to draw a goal back for the Maroon & Gold in the 41st minute but had her shot turned away by IPFW netminder Sam Pavlika as the Mastodons took a two-goal lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Ramblers came out of the intermission in search of a route back into the game. Cat Kent and Maria Carr each recorded shots in the opening five minutes of the second stanza. Following a Pavlika stop on Katie Grall's shot in the 56th minute, Valerie Gonyo was on the receiving end of the ensuing Shelby Koch corner kick. The New Berlin, Wis. product slipped her shot into the lower right corner of the goal to put the Ramblers on the board with over half an hour to play. Gonyo has now scored in three of the Loyola's last four games.

Loyola continued to attack relentlessly as the half wore on. Koch and Carr saw their respective shots stopped in 61st and 63rd minutes, respectively, before Pavlika stepped up to stop Sammy Gage's blast in the 65th. Bean suffered the same fate as Gage on her attempt in the 73rd minute. Gonyo ensured that the deficit remained at a single goal when she made her only save of the half in the 84th minute. Pavlika made her seventh and final save of the afternoon on Jillaine DeYoung's shot in the 86th minute. That proved to be Loyola's final chance of the game as IPFW hung on for a 2-1 victory.

The Ramblers will be back in action on Friday evening when they begin Missouri Valley Conference play with a road clash against the Indiana State Sycamores. Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m., Central Time, from Terre Haute, Ind.