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CHICAGO - Three goals inside a 12-minute span in the second half, coupled with a stifling defensive performance, propelled the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team to a 3-0 victory over city-rival DePaul this evening at Loyola Soccer Park. The win takes the Ramblers back over the .500 mark at 4-3-2 overall (0-1-0 MVC), while the Blue Demons drop to 1-8-0 (0-1-0 BIG EAST).

"It was a nice win for us tonight after a real heartbreaker at Bradley last Friday," Loyola head men's soccer coach Neil Jones commented. "The guys showed great resolve and character, which is definitely the mark of a strong team. We had a few good days of training with the quick turnaround and the guys really competed out here tonight and scored three great goals. Now we look forward to another big home game on Saturday against Evansville."

As was the case in last Friday's clash with Bradley, Loyola controlled possession for long stretches of the first half on a windy, cool evening in Rogers Park for the latest installment of the Red Line Rivalry. Redshirt senior Eric Schoendorf headed over the bar in the 15th minute, recording the first attempt of the evening. The Ramblers kept piling on pressure as they pinned DePaul back in its own third. A blocked effort from sophomore Kyle Thomson led to the Maroon & Gold's first corner of the night in the 24th minute that ultimately saw sophomore Elliot Collier fire high of goal.

Freshman Alec Lasinski looked to break the deadlock in the 37th minute after being substituted on shortly before. A low cross from junior Kirill Likhovid ended up at the feet of the Ann Arbor, Mich. product, who pushed his try just wide of the near post as the game headed to halftime scoreless. The Ramblers took a 4-0 edge in shots into the locker room but were unable to test DePaul goalkeeper Mack Robinson in the opening 45 minutes.

Collier forced the Blue Demon netminder into his first action of the night shortly after the start of the second half when Robinson parried away his blast at the near post. With the Ramblers still pressing for a breakthrough goal, the visitors from Lincoln Park hoped to catch Loyola sleeping in the 60th minute. Jack Scheper found himself on the receiving end of a long, arching pass but was unable to get his full force on his shot, leading to a comfortable save for senior goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski.

Loyola's persistence was rewarded in the 65th minute. Freshman Fabian Lifka saw his shot from the edge of the 18-yard box ring off the far post, only for sophomore Brody Kraussel to clean up the rebound and put the Ramblers on top, 1-0. Simon Megally tried to answer right back for the Blue Demons in the 67th minute but skied his free kick attempt. Freshman Ryan Walker added a second for the Ramblers less than ten minutes later, firing a one-timer in at the near post from 10 yards out to make it 2-0. Any hope for a late surge from DePaul was extinguished when Walker sent a low cross into the box that was directed in by fellow freshman Connor Stevenson in the 77th minute, giving Loyola its first victory over its rival to the south since 2007 and extending the Ramblers' home unbeaten run to 14 games.

Loyola returns to action on Saturday when it welcomes Evansville to Loyola Soccer Park for a key Missouri Valley Conference fixture. Kickoff against the Purple Aces is set for 7 p.m.