Box Score (PDF)
In Short…
Junior
Fabian Lifka found the back of the net on two separate occasions as the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team played to a 2-2 double-overtime draw against city rival DePaul this evening at Loyola Soccer Park. Tonight's result sees the Ramblers move to 5-5-3 (1-3-1 MVC), while the Blue Demons now sit at 4-8-2 (1-3-1 BIG EAST).
How It Happened
DePaul came out and looked to take the game at the Ramblers on a cool evening in Rogers Park. Misfires from Stin Van Der Slot and Zach El-Shafei preceded a blast by Istvan Wilhelms that forced a stop of our freshman goalkeeper
Evan Konermann.
Lifka put the Maroon & Gold in front in the 12
th minute when he deposited a pass from senior
Elliot Collier past a diving Quinton Low, the DePaul goalkeeper, to make it 1-0. Both netminders would be tested throughout the remainder of the opening half but Lifka's tally proved to be the difference as Loyola took a 1-0 lead into the intermission.
DePaul leveled the score up through Philipp Konigstein in the 63
rd minute. Following a Rambler foul, Konigstein unleashed a free kick from 25 yards out that made its way through the box untouched and in at the far post to knot things up at 1-1. Less than 10 minutes later, Van Der Slot took off on a run that eventually led him inside the 18-yard box where he tucked his attempt inside the far post to give the Blue Demons a 2-1 lead.
Low came up with a pair of crucial stops on sophomore
Aidan Megally and junior
Alec Lasinski, respectively, to keep the Ramblers at bay before a foul in the box presented Loyola with an opportunity from the penalty spot with three minutes to play. Lifka stepped up and snuck his shot past a diving low to put Loyola back on level terms, 2-2, and force overtime.
Both teams had opportunities to find a winner during the two extra sessions. Konermann came up with a key stop on a blast by Konigstein in the 97
th minute of play to keep the Ramblers alive. Collier came dangerously close to sending the home fans into a frenzy when he sidestepped a sprawling low and put a rolling attempt on target, only for it to be cleared off the line by the DePaul defense in what would be the final scoring chance of the evening.
Looking At The Numbers
- Following tonight's result, Loyola's unbeaten run has now reached four games (1-0-3). The Ramblers are also unbeaten in their last four matchups against DePaul (2-0-2).
- Neither side was shy about taking chances on the evening as both teams recorded 20 shots apiece.
- Tonight marked the second two-goal performance of Lifka's career. The Kelkheim, Germany product also netted a pair of tallies as part of a 3-0 blanking of Central Arkansas back on Oct. 17, 2015.
- Konermann finished the night with five saves in goal.
Up Next
Loyola is back home on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. when it steps back inside Missouri Valley Conference play against Bradley.
