CARBONDALE, Ill. (October 17, 2021)
In Short…
A late first-half goal served as the catalyst for a dominant showing in the second half as the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team completed a perfect run through its Missouri Valley Conference road slate today, racing past host Southern Illinois (0-13-1, 0-6-0 MVC) by a final count of 5-0. This afternoon's effort from the Lew Hartzog Track & Field Complex sees the Ramblers move to 10-2-2 overall (6-0-1 MVC), the eighth 10-win season in program history.
Head Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"We came out with good intensity and earned a penalty kick, but we got a bit deflated after they saved it. Luckily, we took some momentum into halftime after cashing in on our sustained pressure. We found a good rhythm from the onset in the second half and put the game away. I thought our entire backline did a great job today limiting their chances, and Maddie (Hausmann) came up big with a penalty kick save of her own."
How It Happened
Loyola had a golden opportunity to jump out to an early lead just four minutes in, earning a penalty kick following a Southern Illinois infraction inside the 18-yard box. Saluki netminder Maddy Alaluf was up to the task though, denying graduate student
Katharine Stephens to keep things scoreless. The Maroon & Gold continued to attack the Southern Illinois net in the minutes following, with junior
Amanda Cassidy and freshman
Taylor Harrison both forcing stops out of Alaluf.
Following a pair of stops by senior goalkeeper
Maddie Hausmann, the second of which came in the 26
th minute off an attempt by McKensey Bunch, Loyola received a lift from the bench to take the lead just before halftime. After coming on only nine minutes earlier, freshman
Jaimee Cibulka fired home in the 44
th minute, giving the Ramblers a 1-0 lead they would carry into halftime.
Loyola carried the momentum from Cibulka's tally into the second half, scoring three times across the first 18:11 of the second stanza to put the game out of reach. Senior
Abby Swanson opened the flood gates in the 49
th minute, directing home off a feed from Cassidy to double the lead, 2-0. The Ramblers cashed in off a set piece five minutes later to up the margin to 3-0, with Harrison scoring off a corner kick delivery from junior
Olivia Knab. Harrison added a second in the 64
th minute, as she stretched the gap to 4-0 following a delivery from junior
Megan Nemec.
After seeing her counterpart make an impressive stop to open the afternoon, Hausmann turned away a penalty kick of her own in the 74
th minute, denying Bunch's try from the spot to preserve the shutout. Sophomore
Olivia Rhodes provided the exclamation point in the 83
rd minute, depositing senior
Bailey Faulkner's find into the back of the net to provide the 5-0 final.
Looking At The Numbers
- Loyola's five goals scored this afternoon are a season high and its top offensive output since it dealt Southern Illinois a 5-0 defeat back on March 28, 2021.
- Cibulka's netted her second goal of the season and first career game-winning tally in the first half.
- Swanson added her third goal, all of which have come during Valley play, following the intermission.
- Harrison recorded her first career brace, moving up to second on Loyola's goal scoring chart as she upped her total to four this afternoon.
- Nemec dished out her team-high sixth assist on Harrison's 64
th-minute tally.
- Rhodes scored her first career goal in the closing minutes, becoming the 13
th different Rambler to find the back of the net this season. She also was credited an assist, along with fellow sophomore
Madeleine Barone, on Cibulka's opener.
- Hausmann finished the day with four saves in goal en route to her eighth shutout of the year, a mark that moves her into a tie for second on Loyola's single-season record board in the category.
Up Next
Loyola will be idle for 11 days before it hosts Valparaiso on Thursday, October 28 at 4 p.m. in the regular season finale for both teams. The matchup with the Beacons will serve as Kick Cancer night, which will be highlighted by a silent auction for game-worn jerseys that benefits the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
