In Short…
Goals late in the second half from senior
Madison Laudeman and freshman
Megan Nemec secured the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team its second straight outright Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, as the Ramblers defeated Evansville (2-11-3, 1-4-2 MVC) by a final margin of 2-0 today at Arad McCutchan Stadium in Evansville, Ind. Today's result also pushes Loyola's program-record win streak to 10 games.
Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"Evansville made it very hard on us today by being very organized and tenacious defensively, but we kept battling and found the winner. We'll enjoy tonight and start our preparations for the semifinals next week."
How It Happened
Loyola quickly looked to take control on a frigid late afternoon that saw wind chills dip into the low 20s. Sophomore
Abby Swanson headed wide of goal off a corner kick in the 10
th minute before junior
Katharine Stephens was denied by an onrushing Michaela Till, the Purple Aces' goalkeeper, shortly after.
Freshman goalkeeper
Grace Droessler saw her first notable action of the day just past the quarter-hour mark, diving to collect Emily Ormson's attempt. Loyola continued to see the majority of possession as time wore on, but was unable to unlock an organized Evansville defense as the two teams retreated to the warmth of their respective locker rooms in a scoreless stalemate.
The start of the second half followed a similar script to that of the first, with the Ramblers continuing to have the better of the chances. Junior
Lindsey Hardiman forced a pair of saves out of Till in the frame's middle stages, while Droessler came up with a key denial of her own in the 57
th minute, pouncing on a free kick from Jayme-Lee Hunter.
Loyola was rewarded for its consistent pressure in the 79
th minute. Following a corner kick from senior
Aleksa Tataryn, Laudeman unleashed a one-time effort from the edge of the 18-yard box that curled inside Till's near post, giving the Ramblers a well-deserved 1-0 lead. Nemec put to rest any hopes of a Purple Aces' comeback six minutes later, directing a cross from graduate student
Simone Wark across the line to seal a 2-0 triumph for the Maroon & Gold.
Looking At The Numbers
- With today's victory, Loyola completed its first unblemished run through conference play in program history and posted the first perfect Valley record since Illinois State in 2014.
- Laudeman's game-winner was her first goal of the season. The Chesterfield, Mo. product is the 11
th different Rambler to find the back of the net on the year.
- Nemec's insurance goal upped her total on the year to six and moved the Tinley Park, Ill. native back into sole-possession of Loyola's overall points lead (17).
- Wark dished out her fifth assist of the year on Nemec's tally, a mark that moves her into a tie for the team lead with her freshman counterpart.
- Loyola's defensive unit capped off a dominant run through MVC play today, recording its fifth shutout and seventh overall clean sheet of the season. Through its seven conference contests, Loyola held opponents to just 0.29 goals per game.
Up Next
Loyola will be the top seed in the upcoming Missouri Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship. By virtue of finishing in the top two in the conference table, the Ramblers will receive an automatic bye to the semifinals, where they will face the winner of the opening-round matchup between the tournament's fourth and fifth seeds on Friday, November 8 in Springfield, Mo.
