MATTHEWS, N.C. (April 27, 2021)
In Short…
Junior
Abby Swanson scored the first goal in NCAA Tournament history for the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team, as the Ramblers dropped a hard-fought 3-1 decision to Denver (17-2-1, 14-1-1 Summit) this afternoon in the First Round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. Today's result from the Sportsplex in Matthews, N.C. sees the Maroon & Gold close the 2021 spring season at 8-2-1 overall (6-1-1 MVC).
How It Happened
Loyola wasted no time in notching its first NCAA Tournament goal on a sweltering afternoon just outside of Charlotte. Sophomore
Olivia Knab sent a corner kick towards the far post that found the head of a leaping Swanson, who directed back across the face of goal to give Loyola a 1-0 lead just 43 seconds in.
The Ramblers had their chances for a second in the minutes following Swanson's opener, with sophomore
Megan Nemec forcing acrobatic saves out of Denver goalkeeper Nerea Arrazola in both the 15
th and 22
nd minutes.
Denver found its equalizer just past the midway point of the first half. After Sydney Sharp saw her close-range effort cleared off the line following a Pioneers' corner kick, Sami Fuller headed the resulting rebound through traffic to pull Denver level, 1-1. Junior
Aly Kilburg made a bid to put Loyola back in front with time ticking down, unleashing a screaming blast from 25 yards out that Arrazola needed to tip over her crossbar to keep the game knotted up heading to halftime.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Grace Droessler tallied a pair of saves in the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza to keep the Ramblers on level terms. On the other end of the field, fellow sophomore
Amanda Cassidy took aim from just outside the 18-yard box, but was denied by Arrazola.
Denver took a lead it would not relinquish in the 61
st minute, as Sharp rose up to head a floating ball past a leaping Droessler to make it 2-1.
Loyola's best chance of the second half came in the waning minutes of regulation. After seeing her initial try parried away by Arrazola, sophomore
Kyrsten Pellikan looked to redirect the ensuring rebound back on target, but narrowly pulled her effort wide of the near post. Just two minutes later, the Pioneers added on, with Sharp feeding Katilyn Glover to push the margin to 3-1 and punch Denver's ticket to the Second Round.
Looking At The Numbers
- Swanson, a First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference pick, scored her second goal of the season and ninth tally of her career in the opening minute. The goal was Loyola's first in just under 454 minutes of NCAA Tournament play.
- The Ramblers finished the day with a 15-12 lead in shots, putting nine attempts on goal.
- Droessler was credited with four saves in goal.
Head Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
On the game: "Credit to Denver. They are a very talented team and took advantage of their opportunities. I thought we did enough to win today. We created enough chances. Their goalkeeper made two unbelievable saves in the first half. If we put one of those away, maybe it's a little bit of a different story. At the end of the day, I couldn't be prouder of the performance from the girls."
On the seniors/Spring 2021: "Our senior class set the tone for winning. They're a super competitive group that always has done things the right way. They prepared to be champions. Looking back on what we asked these girls to do this season, they've sacrificed so much. A lot of credit goes to the whole group and to the support staff at Loyola. I thought they helped us every step of the way and got us to this point."
