CINCINNATI, Ohio (September 12, 2021)
In Short…
The Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team gave No. 23 Xavier (7-0-0) all it could handle, falling this afternoon by a final count of 2-1 at Corcoran Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. Following today's result, the Ramblers now sit at 4-2-1 overall.
Head Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"We showed a lot of grit on the road against a top 25 team. We had a lot of very good moments during the game and will clean up a few areas heading into conference play."
How It Happened
Loyola looked to push forward early on, with junior
Kyrsten Pellikan seeing her attempt blocked before senior
Bailey Faulkner forced a save out of Xavier goalkeeper Olivia Jenkins. Xavier responded just four minutes later, with Chloe Netzel nudging a feed from Elise Le past senior goalkeeper
Maddie Hausmann to put the Musketeers on top, 1-0.
Hausmann stepped up to keep the deficit at one in the 13
th minute, turning away Emma Marcus. Freshman
Jaimee Cibulka fired wide of goal in the 36
th minute as both teams struggled to put chances on target down the stretch in the first half, with Xavier taking a 1-0 advantage into the locker room.
As was the case in the first half, the hosts struck early, doubling their lead in the 49
th minute when Marcus weaved through the Rambler defense before scoring on an open net from five yards out to push the deficit to 2-0. Loyola refused to go away quietly, with Faulkner, fellow senior
Abby Swanson, and freshman
Taylor Harrison all firing off target in the minutes following Marcus' goal.
With time beginning to run down, Loyola got on the board through the pairing of Cibulka and junior
Megan Nemec in the 65
th minute. Following a run down the right side, Nemec delivered a centering pass from inside the 18-yard box that found its way through traffic before falling to Cibulka, who put her left-footed effort past a diving Jenkins at the near post to trim the Xavier lead to 2-1.
Following another save by Hausman that kept the Ramblers within striking distance, Loyola came tantalizingly close to equalizing in the 83
rd minute, as junior
Amanda Cassidy's attempt off a Faulkner corner was cleared off the line by a Musketeer defender. A shot by Swanson at the tail end of the sequence was saved by Jenkins, in what proved to be the Maroon & Gold's final attempt on goal for the afternoon.
Looking At The Numbers
- Cibulka, who tallied her first collegiate goal this afternoon, became the seventh different Rambler to find the back of the net this season.
- Nemec dished out her second assist, a mark that ranks second on the Loyola roster.
- Loyola finished the second half with a 7-2 edge in shots, as both teams closed the afternoon with 11 attempts apiece.
- Hausmann added a pair of saves in goal.
Up Next
Loyola returns home on Friday, September 17 at 7 p.m. to battle Indiana State in its Missouri Valley Conference opener. Following its matchup with the Sycamores, the Ramblers will host Eastern Michigan in a 1 p.m. kickoff on Sunday, September 19 in their non-conference finale.
