In Short…
For the second time in as many games, the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team netted three second-half goals, as it cruised to a 3-0 win over visiting UNI this evening at Loyola Soccer Park. Tonight's victory, Loyola's fifth straight, sees the Ramblers climb to 7-4-1 overall (2-0-0 MVC), while the Panthers drop to 4-7-0 (0-2-0 MVC).
Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"I thought throughout the whole game, even in the first half where we couldn't find a goal, that the performance was really good. We talked to the girls at halftime about cleaning up the little details. I thought we let them off the hook a couple of times by fouling them, which is where their dangerous opportunities came from. The second half was just a great performance. We moved the ball really well, created a ton of chances, and got the three goals."
How It Happened
Following strong storms that moved though the area prior to kickoff, Loyola wasted no time in going on the attack on what turned into a cool evening on Chicago's North Side. Junior
Katharine Stephens fired wide of goal in the second minute before forcing a stop out of Joydyn Petty, the Panther netminder, just six minutes later.
Freshman goalkeeper
Grace Droessler came up with a crucial save of her own just past the quarter-hour mark, going to the ground to corral Johnnie Hill's close-range effort. Loyola continued to press forward as the half wore on, with sophomore
Abby Swanson and freshman
Megan Nemec both seeing their attempts turned away by Petty, as the two teams headed to halftime knotted up at 0-0.
The two goalkeepers traded saves in the second half's early minutes. Droessler parried away Lizzie Mewes' five minutes after the restart, while Petty came up with a save in traffic to deny senior
Aleksa Tataryn shortly thereafter.
Petty kept the Maroon & Gold at bay until the 69
th minute. Senior
Madison Laudeman served a free kick into the area that, after being headed down by fellow senior
Sienna Cruz, fell to the feet of Swanson, who rifled her attempt past Petty to make it 1-0. Loyola struck again just under two minutes later when Nemec used an impressive piece of individual skill to evade a Panther defender before tucking her blast from the edge of the 18-yard box in at the far post to double the Rambler lead, 2-0. Freshman
Amanda Cassidy capped off the second-half barrage in the 79
th minute, heading a service from freshman
Olivia Knab in from six yards to put the exclamation point on a 3-0 Loyola victory.
Looking At The Numbers
- Tonight's victory sees Loyola match its longest win streak from all of last season.
- Swanson opened her account for the 2019 season with her game-winning strike. The sophomore is the ninth different Rambler to record a goal this season.
- Nemec now finds herself in a tie with Tataryn for the team lead in goals with five.
- Cassidy upped her goal count on the year to two, while Knab registered her first career assist.
- Droessler made a pair of stops to secure her second shutout in as many games and Loyola's third-straight clean sheet overall. The Ramblers have not allowed an opposition to score for 304 consecutive minutes of play.
- Loyola owned statistical advantages across the board, outshooting UNI by a 23-7 margin, while also owning a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.
Up Next
Loyola's homestand continues on Saturday, October 12 when it entertains Missouri State in a 1 p.m. matinee. The contests against the Bears will serve as the program's annual "Alumnae Day". For more information, and to register, visit
Loyola's Alumni Relations website.
