AMHERST, Mass. – Loyola University Chicago (9-4-5, 4-2-4 A-10) makes its second appearance in three seasons at the Atlantic 10 tournament, taking on University of Massachusetts Amherst in the first round on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 12 p.m. CT.  

QUICK KICKS  

• Loyola defeated St. Bonaventure 4-0 on Sunday, Oct. 27 to clinch its spot in the tournament quarterfinals. Jaimee Cibulka scored the game-winner, Zoe Hevey netted her second goal of the season, Taylor Harrison added another and Julia Liguore made her first career goal.  
• Heading into the first round, goalkeeper Allison Deardorff second in the league in shutouts per game (.500) and goals against average (.673), and third in saves (.854). 
• The Ramblers' first appearance in the conference tournament was during their debut season as an A-10 team in 2022. They fell 3-0 at the eventual tournament champions Saint Louis who were No. 10 in the country at the time.  

SCOUTING UMASS MINUTEWOMEN  
UMass (11-4-3, 6-2-2 A-10) claimed the third seed, making its final appearance in the A-10 tournament before moving to the Mid-American Conference (MAC) next summer. The Minutewomen's only league losses this season were to then-No. 22 and first seeded Saint Louis, 1-0, and second seeded Dayton, 3-2. Last year, UMass fell, 2-1, to Duquesne in the opening round.  
 
MINUTEWOMEN TO WATCH  

• Senior midfielder Bella Recinos scored the game-winner at Loyola on Oct. 20 to give the Ramblers their first A-10 loss and disrupt their undefeated home record. She leads the team in points (20), goals (nine) and game-winners (four). Recinos is a starter who is not afraid to shoot, also leading the team in shots (40) and shots on goal (24).  
• Another key component to UMass' midfield is graduate student Ella Curry. Curry has notched three goals and three assists for six points so far this year. She was named the A-10 Offensive Play-er of the Week on Sept. 30 after scoring the Minutewomen's initial goal against Rhode Island then assisted on the game-winner. 
• Goalkeeper Bella Mendoza averages 1.06 goals against her and has a .736 save percentage between the posts. Mendoza recorded eight shutouts in the regular season, including one against Loyola. She ranks eighth in the A-10 in total saves with 53.  

SERIES HISTORY  
After defeating Loyola in the regular season at Loyola Soccer Park, UMass took the series lead, 2-1. Now the Ramblers meet the Minutewomen on their turf for the fourth matchup ever between the two teams.