Aug. 27, 2011
Box Score
CHICAGO - Possession was the name of the game when the Loyola men's soccer team took to the pitch against Drake on Friday night. Despite aggressive game-play on both offense and defense, the Ramblers fell to the Bulldogs, 2-1, in their regular season opener at Loyola Soccer Park.
Loyola maintained possession for most of the first half, keeping the ball in the Drake defensive end. However, after a strong counter-attack, Drake was first to find the net. At the 21:39 mark, Hunter Kennedy scored off of an assist from Matt Kuhn for the 1-0 lead.
Still in the midst of their offensive momentum, it only took the Ramblers five minutes to notch the equalizer. Freshman Brian Bement scored his first goal of the season when the Ramblers crashed the net. Bement connected with a quick assist from junior Eric Nock to slide a shot into the lower right corner of the goal and tie the match 1-1.
Both teams came out strong after intermission and fought to take control of the scoreboard. The score remained 1-1 until the 78:35 mark. With just over ten minutes left in the match, Charles Schwartz fed the ball through to Thomas Schermoly who then crossed the ball into the center where Erik Boyer capitalized for the goal to put Drake back with a 2-1 lead.
Although the Maroon and Gold finished shy of the victory, the team out-shot its opponent 13-7 in the contest, and 8-3 in the first half alone. Junior Eric Nock led Loyola with four shots on the match, three shots on goal, and the assist. In addition to his goal, Bement totaled three shots while sophomore James Howe added two. Senior Peter McKeown earned the start between the posts for the Ramblers and tallied one save in the match.
"Overall, I thought we did really well," said head coach Brendan Eitz. "We need to continue to play with edge and find a way to finish. The problem is not creating the opportunities, it is finishing them."
The men's soccer team will now head to Portland, Ore. for the Nike Invitational. Loyola will meet Washington on Sept. 2 at 6:30 p.m. CST and move to face Portland on Sept. 4 at 4:30 p.m. CST.
