Sept. 12, 2016

Final Score: Wisconsin 2, Loyola 0
Records: Wisconsin (3-2-3); Loyola (0-5-2)
Location: Loyola Soccer Park -- Chicago, Ill.
Goalkeepers of Record: W: Caitlyn Clem (3-2-3); L: Cassidy Lentz (0-3-0)
Stats: Box Score | Season Stats
Photo Gallery

In Short...
Sophomore Cassidy Lentz had a career night in goal but visiting Wisconsin used a pair of tallies in the first half to down the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team by a final score of 2-0 this evening at Loyola Soccer Park. With the win, Wisconsin climbs to 3-2-3, while the Ramblers drop to 0-5-2.

Coach Bimbi's Thoughts...
"I think the girls were a little nervous in the first half. We weren't connecting on passes and the play was very spotty. One of the things we've been talking about with the girls is to limit opportunities off set piece goals and that's where both of their goals came from tonight. Those are very fixable things to work on. After halftime, we got our footing and felt a little more comfortable with the ball. We created numerous dangerous chances and we were unfortunate not to get a goal. Overall, I think we were better tonight than we were on Friday and that's what we're looking for in the long run."

How It Happened
Wisconsin came out attacking early on. Lentz's busy night between the pipes begin just two minutes in when the sophomore leaped to deny Rose Lavelle from 25 yards out. She was back at it again in the eighth minute, stoning a blast from Sydney McGinnis.

The Badgers' early persistence was rewarded in 19th minute. Micaela Powers sent a throw in into the box that was met by a leaping Grace Bahr. Bahr headed her initial attempt off the near post but cashed in on the rebound to put Wisconsin in front, 1-0. 10 minutes later, Lavelle unleashed a free kick from 20 yards out at Lentz's near post. She denied the initial attempt but was to corral the resulting rebound, which was fired home by McGinnis to make it 2-0. Loyola looked to have pulled a goal back when freshman Aleksa Tataryn directed a free kick from sophomore Taylor Lambouris into the back of the net, only for the flag to go up for offsides as the Badgers carried their two-goal advantage into the intermission.

Lentz was busy again in the opening stages of the second stanza as she recorded three saves in the first eight minutes of the half. Loyola slowly but surely began to find its footing and began to push Wisconsin back into its own third as time wore on. An ambitious blast from 30 yards out by Lambouris in the 75th minute forced a leaping save out of Caitlyn Clem, the Wisconsin netminder.

Following two more stops from Lentz, senior Ashley Bovee came tantalizingly close to putting the Maroon & Gold on the board in the 80th minute. The Greenville, Wis. native connected flush with a corner kick by Lambouris at the top of the six-yard box and headed at the near post, only to be denied by a diving Clem. That would prove to be Loyola's final shot of the evening as the Badgers escaped with a 2-0 victory.

Inside The Numbers
- Lentz turned in one of the strongest showings of her collegiate career this evening for the Ramblers. The New Berlin, Wis. product stopped 13 shots as she far surpassed her previous career high in the category of six.
- Bovee, junior Katie Grall and sophomore Jenna Szczesny each fired two shots to lead the attack for Loyola in the offensive third.
- Five freshmen saw minutes tonight for the Maroon & Gold. All five logged at least 30 minutes of playing time.
- Following tonight's victory, Wisconsin now holds a 5-0-0 mark in its all-time series with the Ramblers.

Up Next
Loyola heads to Milwaukee, Wis. over the weekend for a pair of games at the Marquette Invitational. The Ramblers will open play on Friday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. against CSUN before an 11 a.m. Sunday morning matinee with Cal Poly.