CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago takes conference action on the road this weekend with a match at Duquesne. Both the Ramblers and Dukes are looking for their first wins of A10 play. Loyola opened the week with a 1-0 loss to No. 24 Saint Louis, while the Dukes tied at Davidson. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. CT.
QUICK KICKS
• Loyola Chicago opened Atlantic 10 action at home earlier this week taking the No. 24 Saint Louis squad down to the wire. Naya Lipkens made a season-high seven saves in goal for the Ramblers, but the Billikens squeaked one through in the 85th minute for a 1-0 win in the league opener.
• Non-conference action wrapped up last week with a Red Line Rivalry 1-0 win at DePaul. Taylor Harrison scored her second game-winner of the season in the 82nd minute helping the Ramblers to their second shutout of 2023. Zoe Hevey assisted on the goal for her third of the year. Harrison now leads the Ramblers with eight points, while Hevey adds seven.
• The win at DePaul marked the program's 250th win all-time. It is also the second shutout for the Ramblers this season, with the other coming against Western Illinois.
• Last week, the Ramblers also played Big Ten foe Wisconsin on their home turf. The Badgers stole a 3-2 win. Amanda Cassidy scored for the second time this season in the 43rd minute to knot the game 1-1. In the second half, Madeleine Barone took a penalty kick for the Ramblers after a handball in the box. It marks her first goal of the year.
• Before hosting the Badgers, the Ramblers won back-to-back matches vs. Western Illinois and Ball State. Hevey scored the game-winning goal vs. the Leathernecks after firing off a season-high seven shots. Olivia Rhodes and Harrison registered goals vs. the Cardinals with helpers from Hevey on both goals. Hevey earned A10 Rookie of the Week for her four-point outing that week.
• Loyola has 11 goals scored this year after netting one at DePaul. The team's 11 goals this season sits fourth in the Atlantic 10 and 127th in the NCAA.
• The Ramblers have outshot their opponents three times, including two matches with 20+ shots. Against Western Illinois, Loyola held the Leathernecks without an attempt and tallied a season-high 25 shots. Last weekend at DePaul, the Ramblers outshot the Blue Demons, 24-4. Loyola also held a 15-6 edge at Toledo in its first win of the year.
• On the Atlantic 10 leaderboards, Harrison finds herself among the best scorers so far this season. Her four goals is second in the league, which ranks 81st in the country. She has two game-winners to leads the conference and ranks 29th in the NCAA.
• Barry Bimbi is in his 13th season as head coach of the Ramblers. Bimbi notched his 100th career win last year and sits at 110-95-29 overall record.
SCOUTING DUQUESNE
The Dukes posted a 3-5 finish over their non-conference schedule and picked up their first draw of the season in the Atlantic 10 opener at Davidson. Duquesne shutout three opponents, including a 5-0 win vs. American. The Dukes are coming off a 6-7-3 campaign last season and were tabbed seventh in the A10 Preseason Poll in August.
DUKES TO WATCH
• Maya Matesa leads the Dukes with seven points over nine appearances. She has three goals and an assist. Matesa netted a pair of goals in Duquesne's 5-0 win over America. She added another in the shutout vs. Saint Francis.
• Morgan Kulniszewski has four helpers this season, which is the third most by an A10 player this season. She recorded one against American, two vs. Saint Francis, and added one more vs. FDU. Kulniszewski has done all of that coming off the bench in all eight of her appearances.
• In goal, Maddy Neindorfer has started eight of the nine matches. So far, she's allowed 14 goals making 38 stops between the posts. Neindorfer made a season-high eight saves vs. Davidson earlier this week.
SERIES HISTORY
The all-time series sits at 0-0-1 after a 0-0 draw between the Ramblers and Dukes last season.
