Aug. 20, 2005

Rockford, Ill. - Loyola scored three goals in each half en route to a 6-1 victory over Lewis in its exhibition opener this afternoon at Wegebury Stadium in Rockford, Ill. The Ramblers tallied three goals in each half to cruise to the victory.

"Lewis was a quality opponent that is ranked 17th in the nation in the Division II preseason poll," said first-year head coach Brendan Eitz. "The preseason has been full of positive energy and it was great to see that rewarded with a 6-1 victory. We were able to produce some nice combination play but need to continue to train to improve our speed of play. This week we will focus on the areas of our game that we need to improve before opening the season with the Jesuit Cup at Loyola Soccer Park."

Freshman Luis Paiva opened the scoring in the 18th minute, scoring off a Joe Nierzwicki feed, before senior Dino Melitas tallied a pair of goals in the opening half, hitting the target in both the 25th and 32nd minutes, to give the Ramblers a comfortable 3-0 cushion at intermission.

After the Flyers pulled one back just two minutes after the restart, Nierzwicki restored LU's three-goal advantage, scoring off an Eric Spiess assist after 58 minutes. Freshman Chris Wurst and sophomore Tony DeLuca capped off the impressive offensive effort with goals in the 80th and 88th minutes, respectively.

Loyola wraps up its two-match preseason schedule next Sunday when it takes on Michigan State in Ft. Wayne, Ind.