CHICAGO – Loyola Chicago shut out Eastern Illinois 4-0 in its home and season opener on Thursday night. Three Ramblers in their career debuts found the net to propel Loyola to its first victory of the season.
"The confidence this group has in each other when they step out onto the field, that if it's on, shooters shoot, and that's what we've been talking about in training, that it's there," said head coach Angela Staveskie. "It was fun and exciting to see our young players step up in those moments where they're nervous too, and they're embracing and managing those nerves."
The Ramblers are now 1-0-0 in overall play.
How It Happened
After a scoreless first half hour, sophomore forward Emily Rossi opened fire on a beautiful assist from Zoe Hevey to score her first career goal. Rossi followed it up with her second goal of the night in the 50th minute to set a career high.
The Ramblers maintained this momentum and netted two more goals in just six minutes. Freshman forward Jocelyn Leigh scored her first career goal on another assist from Hevey and first-year middie Lydia Case snagged the final goal off an assist from junior Ella Skelton. It was another career first for a freshman Rambler.
Inside the Box Score
- Hevey had two assists and took four shots, two on target.
- Sophomore keeper Allison Deardorff made her career debut in goal, recording one save and her first shut out.
- Alaina Abel, Jaimee Cibulka and Olivia Rhodes played the entire 90 minutes.
- Loyola outshot EIU 22-5 (9-1 SOG).
- The Ramblers took 11 corner kicks, five in the first half and six in the second.
Up Next
Loyola hits the road to face Purdue on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m. CT in Lafayette, Ind.
