Loyola Game Notes | Oklahoma State Game Notes | The Valley on ESPN (subscription required) vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | Live Stats vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | The Valley on ESPN (subscription required) vs. Oklahoma State | Live Stats vs. Oklahoma State
CHICAGO (August 30, 2018) – The Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team will return to the friendly confines of Loyola Soccer Park for the first time in nearly two weeks this weekend to host a pair of games. Purdue Fort Wayne will provide the opposition in a 5 p.m. matchup on Friday before No. 14/13 Oklahoma State comes to Rogers Park at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
Last Time Out: Loyola split a pair of games in California last weekend. Senior
Jenna Szczesny, who was named the Missouri Valley Conference's Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, found the back of the net in the 80
th minute as part of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Loyola Marymount last Friday in Los Angeles, Calif. The Ramblers bounced back two days later behind goals from senior
Madison Kimball, sophomore
Kat Stephens and freshman
Abby Swanson as they picked up a 3-1 victory over CSU Bakersfield.
vs. Purdue Fort Wayne: Fresh off recording its first win of the season, a 2-1 victory over Valparaiso last Sunday, Purdue Fort Wayne brings a record of 1-2-1 into Friday's weekend-opener with the Ramblers. Kailyn Wade and Kendall Quinn both notched goals for fifth-year head coach Jason Burr's side in its win over the Crusaders at Brown Field. The Mastodons were picked to finish eighth, alongside Western Illinois, in the Summit League's Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll. Burr returns a strong nucleus of returning letterwinners from 2017, highlighted by the duo of Quinn and Deanna Hecht, who each netted four goals last season. Haley Lydon (1.00 GAA) and Lorah Pund (1.35 GAA) have split time in goal this season.
vs. No. 14/13 Oklahoma State: Oklahoma State, which will visit Illinois on Friday night, brings an unblemished 3-0-0 record to its weekend trip to the Land of Lincoln. The Cowgirls, ranked No. 14 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and No. 13 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Poll, preserved their perfect mark last Sunday, defeating No. 5/4 Florida by a final count of 1-0 behind a goal in the 103rd minute by Marlo Zoller. Led by reigning Big 12 Coach of the Year Colin Carmichael, who has been at the helm of the Oklahoma State program since its inception in 1996, the Cowgirls were voted second, behind only West Virginia, in the Big 12 Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll. Haley Woodard (8 goals, 3 assists in 2017) was a unanimous Preseason All-Big 12 pick after being earning First Team All-Big 12 honors last season.
Series Stuff: Loyola owns a 5-2-1 advantage in eight previous meetings with Purdue Fort Wayne. The Ramblers snapped a brief two-game skid to the Mastodons last season, rolling to a 6-1 victory at the Hefner Soccer Complex on Sept. 24, 2017.
Aleksa Tataryn found the back of the net twice for the Maroon & Gold in the win. Oklahoma State defeated Loyola, 2-0, in the first meeting between the two schools to open last season on Aug. 18, 2017 in Stillwater, Okla.
Up Next: Loyola will make the short trip south to Lincoln Park next Thursday (Sept. 6) to take on DePaul in the latest installment of the "Red Line Rivalry". Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. from Wish Field.
