The Valley on ESPN3 vs. Evansville | Live Stats vs. Evansville | Live Video ($) vs. Fort Wayne | Live Stats vs. Fort Wayne
CHICAGO (September 21, 2017) – Currently riding a four-game winning streak, the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team heads back out on the road this weekend for a pair of games in the state of Indiana. The Ramblers will take on Missouri Valley Conference foe Evansville at 7 p.m. on Friday evening at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Ind. before stepping back outside of league play for a 12 p.m. (CT) Sunday afternoon clash with Fort Wayne two days later at the Hefner Soccer Complex in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Last Time Out: Loyola picked up a pair of shutout wins over city rivals last weekend. The Ramblers rolled past Chicago State, 9-0, and followed that performance up with a 2-0 blanking of DePaul two days later. Junior
Jenna Szczesny registered the game-winning goals in both victories, bringing her team and MVC-best goal total up to seven. Senior goalkeeper
Maddie Ford turned in a pair of strong efforts between the pipes, highlighted by a six-save effort against the Blue Demons.
vs. Evansville: Evansville currently sits at 4-6-0 on the year following losses to Saint Louis, 3-1, and Middle Tennessee State, 3-2 (OT), last weekend. Friday's contest will serve as the Purple Aces' Missouri Valley Conference opener. Head coach Krista McKendree's team boasts a balanced attack that features seven different players who have found the back of the net. Leading the way for that group is the trio of Jayme-Lee Hunter, Sara Osinski and Montana Portenier. Hunter has netted a team-high three goals, with Osinski and Portenier close behind with two tallies apiece. Michaela Till has started in all 10 games in goal this season and owns a 1.65 goals against average.
vs. Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne brings a record of 1-8-0 into the weekend. The Mastodons picked up their first win of the 2017 campaign this past Sunday as they raced past Robert Morris, 4-2, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Kendall Quinn has a team-best three goals to her name this season for a Fort Wayne offense that averages just one goal per game. Haley Lydon (2.27 GAA) has seen the majority of action in goal this season for the Mastodons, starting in seven of the team's nine games.
Series Stuff: Loyola owns a 4-1-4 edge over Evansville in the all-time series between the two sides. The Ramblers prevailed when the two teams met during the regular season in 2016, downing the Purple Aces by a final score of 1-0 at Loyola Soccer Park via a
Sienna Cruz second-half goal. Evansville gained a measure of revenge as it knocked the Ramblers out of the MVC Women's Soccer Championship for a second consecutive year on penalty kicks, 9-8, after the two teams played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in the semifinals of the league tournament. Loyola holds a 4-2-1 lead in seven all-time meetings with Fort Wayne but the Mastodons have prevailed in each of the last two encounters, most recently picking up a 2-1 home win during the 2014 campaign.
After This: Loyola returns home on Sunday, Oct. 1 to take on Missouri State at 1 p.m. to begin a stretch of three straight games against MVC opponents.
