Nov. 6, 2008
Box Score
CHICAGO - A strong offensive effort, in which the fifth-seeded Loyola men's soccer team scored three goals in the opening period alone, paved the way for a 4-1 victory over eighth-seeded Valparaiso in the first round of the Horizon League Men's Soccer Championship Thursday night at Loyola Soccer Park. The Ramblers improve to 9-6-3 and move on to the second round, where they will host ninth-seeded Detroit Sunday afternoon. Valparaiso ends the season at 6-10-3.
Loyola secured its first goal of the match just over five minutes into play, as junior Michael Ferguson dished off a pass from the middle to classmate Eric Gehrig who was sprinting down the right sideline and fired home his team-leading fifth goal of the season. The duo would strike again in the 13th minute, as Ferguson and senior Lubo Boris connected with Gehrig, who nailed a clear shot from the middle of the field to put the Ramblers up 2-0. It was Boris' first career assist and the second of the season for Ferguson.
Less than 10 minutes later, Ferguson would produce some scoring of his own, breaking away from the pack and sinking his third goal of the season. Loyola held only a 9-8 shot advantage at the half, but six came on goal, while the Crusaders only had two.
Valparaiso jumped on the board in the 61st minute, as Paul Leitelt fired a shot from 30 yards out off a pass from Ken Perkins to cut the lead to 3-1. Senior Keum Sung Kim responded in the 86th minute however, as sophomore Willie Koss set Kim up for his fourth goal of the year and the second assist of the season for Koss.
Loyola outshot the Crusaders 20-15 for the match and 10-5 in shots on goal. Gehrig led the offensive effort with two goals on four shots, including three on goal and Kim recorded four shots as well, while five different players tallied at least two shots. Senior goalkeeper Brian Byrne picked up four saves in 90 minutes in goal for the Ramblers.
Fifth-seeded Loyola now advances to the second round to host ninth-seeded Detroit Sunday afternoon at Loyola Soccer Park. Detroit also won its first round match tonight, upsetting No. 4 Green Bay, 4-1 after penalty kicks. The Titans beat Loyola in their regular season meeting, 2-1 on Sept. 26 at Loyola Soccer Park.
