LEADING OFF 
Loyola Chicago (3-1-1) begins its three-match road trip at Illinois State (3-3-1) on Sunday, Sept. 7 at 1 p.m. in Normal, Ill.

QUICK KICKS  

• Redshirt goalkeeper Allison Deardorff was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week after securing two straight shutouts; a blank draw with then-No. 10 Iowa in which Deardorff made five stops (Aug. 28) and she made one save in a 1-0 shutout against Purdue (Aug. 31).  
• Deardorff is riding a four-match shutout streak and currently leads the A-10 in shutouts per game (4), and ranks second in goals against average (.400) and in saves (15). She's tied with five other goalkeepers for second in the country in total shutouts.  
• In the 90th minute against Purdue, junior midfielder Ansley Cryan netted the game-winner off an assist from fellow junior Zoe Hevey – the first points for each of them this season – to secure Loyola's first home victory.  
• Hevey tops the conference in shots per game and ranks 10th nationally with 22 attempts. 
• The historic win over the Boilermakers marked the Ramblers first win over a Big Ten team since 2017, when the Ramblers defeated Iowa for the first time ever, and its first Power Four win since 2019 when the Maroon and Gold upset Mizzou on the road. 
• The Ramblers currently rank ninth in the eastern region of the United Soccer Coaches Top 10 Regional Rankings.  
• Loyola welcomed 10 newcomers to their 2025 roster, including five true freshmen and five transfers while 18 Ramblers returned.  
• At the helm of the program is head coach Jon Sandoval in his first season at Loyola. 

SCOUTING REPORT 
Illinois State is on a three-match winning streak heading into Sunday's match against Loyola. The Redbirds shut out their last three opponents: 5-0 vs. Western Illinois (Aug. 28), 1-0 at UT Martin (Aug. 31) and 2-0 vs. IU-Indy (Sept. 4). Starting goalkeeper Madi Valenti leads the Missouri Valley Conference in total saves (30) while rookie forward Rylann Law ranks third in points (8) with four goals.  

SERIES HISTORY  
The Redbirds lead the all-time series, 14-10, with the Ramblers; Loyola has won the last six matches against Illinois State, most recently in 2021 after a 2-0 shutout in Normal, Ill.  

FOLLOW THE ACTION 
Stream the match on ESPN+ and be sure to follow the Ramblers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Find more content on our YouTube channel.