CHICAGO (August 22, 2021)
In Short…
Spearheaded by an impressive outing from junior
Megan Nemec, the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team (2-0-0) was dominant from the opening whistle en route to a 3-0 win over visiting SIUE (0-1-0) this afternoon in the 2021 home opener at Loyola Soccer Park.
Head Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"I'm really proud of our attention to detail and all the little things we talked about going into the game. From the opening two minutes, we had a throw-in, a corner kick, and a set piece, which really built up some pressure on SIUE. We were relentless defensively and that jumpstarts our offense. Overall, it was a great team performance."
How It Happened
Loyola wasted no time in pressing the issue on a warm late summer afternoon in Rogers Park, with junior
Olivia Knab forcing a stop out of SIUE goalkeeper Taylor Spiller just under two minutes in. Senior
Abby Swanson and junior
Kyrsten Pellikan also registered shots on net in the early stages.
Nemec put Loyola on the board in the 13
th minute. After chasing down a feed from Pellikan on the left flank, the junior forward evaded a trio of Cougar defenders before tucking her right-footed effort inside the near post from close range to give the Ramblers a 1-0 lead. Nemec was right back in the mix just before the quarter hour mark, rising up to head a Knab corner kick home and double the lead, 2-0.
The Maroon & Gold continued to push forward as the half wore on. Graduate student
Katharine Stephens came within an eyelash of adding a third goal in the 28
th minute, but saw her point-blank effort ring off the near post, as Loyola settled for a two-goal edge at the intermission.
The second half followed a similar script to that of the opening stanza, with Loyola quickly pinning the visitors back in their own third. Graduate student
Kailee Coonan put away any hopes for an SIUE comeback in the 60
th minute, chipping a long pass from Knab over a leaping Jensen Schoch, who was substituted in at halftime in goal for the Cougars, to stretch the margin to 3-0.
Senior goalkeeper
Maddie Hausmann made a pair of stops down the stretch to preserve the shutout and push Loyola to 2-0-0 on the young season.
Looking At The Numbers
- Nemec, who, alongside Swanson, was named to watch list for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy on Thursday, notched the third brace of her career as part of a four-shot effort on the afternoon.
- Coonan's second-half goal was her first as a Rambler and marked her first collegiate strike since scoring against NC State on October 24, 2019 while playing for Syracuse.
- Knab was credited with a pair of assists, providing the helpers on Nemec's second goal and Coonan's tally.
- The Ramblers owned a 22-7 advantage in shots, putting 11 of their tries on goal.
- Hausmann closed the afternoon with two stops to secure her fourth career shutout.
Up Next
Loyola heads south to Florida next weekend for matchups with Florida Atlantic (August 27) and Florida Gulf Coast (August 29).
