Final Stats

CHICAGO - Goals from Kirill Likhovid and Ryan Howe carried the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team to a heart-stopping 2-1 victory in overtime this evening against Bradley in the Missouri Valley Conference opener for both sides before a record-breaking crowd at Loyola Soccer Park. With the win, the Ramblers move to 4-3-0 (1-0-0 Missouri Valley), while the Braves slip to 3-5-0 (0-1-0 Missouri Valley).

"We've got a lot of character within this group," Loyola head men's soccer coach Neil Jones commented. "It has been one of our goals to get a comeback win after not getting one last year. It took a little longer than we had hoped to get the equalizer but we got it at the end and then finished one in overtime right in front of the alumni section. There's no better feeling than that."

As it would be for the vast majority of the evening, Loyola jumped all over its in-state rival in the opening minutes. Elliot Collier had the first chance for either team in the 14th minute when he ripped a shot from 15 yards out that Logan Ketterer, the Bradley netminder, managed to get in front of. Howe had his first shot of the night, one of four for the junior, blocked seconds later. The Braves' first attempt on goal of the evening put them in front when Cody Lofgren used his head to flick a throw in from Jacob Taylor over goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski to put the visitors from Peoria, Ill. on top, 1-0, in the 19th minute.

Despite falling behind, the Ramblers continued to dominate possession and penetrate the Bradley defense, but were unable to finish on any of their chances. Bradley took its one-goal lead into the halftime break despite being outshot, 4-2, in the opening 45 minutes by the Maroon & Gold.

The Braves looked to double their advantage less than four minutes into the second stanza but Andrew Kovacevic sailed his shot over the bar. Eric Schoendorf came inches away from drawing the Ramblers level just over a minute later when he fired a left-footed shot from near the edge of the 18-yard box that just missed at the near post. Schoendorf's near miss was the first of many close calls for Loyola on the offensive end over the next 40 minutes. John Cappuccitti had his header from five yards out saved by Ketterer in the 53rd minute before missing high in the 57th off a pretty backheel pass from Collier.

As regulation entered its final 30 minutes, Loyola continued to move forward. Howe's long distance attempt forced an outstretched stop out of Ketterer in the 66th minute. Five minutes later, the Rockford, Ill. native beat the Bradley goalkeeper only to have the crossbar stop his shot. Dobrowolski kept the deficit at one when he turned away Christian Okeke in the 73rd minute. Brian Bement came close to notching his first goal of the season with less than two minutes to play when he directed a Likhovid cross towards the near post that Ketterer found a way to stop.

With only 15 seconds remaining, Dobrowolski, playing up near midfield, sent a ball that carried into the box to Jake Savino. Savino found an open Likhovid, who fired his third and final shot of the evening past Ketterer to level the game with only eight seconds remaining and send the home crowd into a frenzy.

Coming off a deflating overtime loss to Valparaiso earlier this week, the Ramblers were bound and determined not to let history repeat itself. In the fourth minute of the first extra session, Cappuccitti was taken down in the box, drawing a roar from the Loyola bench and the home fans as the referee awarded a penalty kick. Howe stepped up and calmly slotted it past Ketterer to set off a wild celebration as the Ramblers took home all three points in their conference home opener.

Loyola steps outside of conference play in the middle of next week when it makes the short trip to Wish Field in Lincoln Park for a matchup with city rival DePaul in the latest installment of the Red Line Rivalry. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.