The Valley on ESPN3 vs. Evansville | Live Stats vs. Evansville
CHICAGO (November 3, 2017) – The Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team will look to close the regular season in style on Saturday evening when it hosts Evansville at 7 p.m. Prior to kickoff, the Ramblers will honor their three graduating seniors in a special pregame ceremony.
Last Time Out: Loyola extended its unbeaten run in MVC play to four games last Saturday as it picked up a 2-1 win over league-leading Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. Junior
Fabian Lifka scored his fourth goal of the year in the 18th minute to cancel out Josh Dolling's opener before an own goal by the hosts with just over 20 minutes remaining gave the Maroon & Gold a lead it would not relinquish.
vs. Evansville: Evansville brings a record of 9-8-1 into Saturday's regular-season finale with Loyola. The Purple Aces sit at 2-4-1 in MVC play. The Purple Aces are coming off a 2-1 home win over Northern Kentucky this past Tuesday in Evansville, Ind. Ian McGrath and Caleb Williams each found the back of the net in the victory. McGrath has led the way for head coach Marshall Ray's team this season in the offensive third. A selection to the watch list for the Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy prior to the start of the season. McGrath has a team-best 11 goals to his name, a mark which ranks second overall in the Valley. Matthew Keller has started in five straight games in goal for Evansville, winning four of those five contests. Keller owns a 0.73 goals against average to go along with a 0.806 save percentage.
Series Stuff: Evansville holds a commanding 15-3-1 lead in the previous 19 matchups between the Ramblers and Purple Aces. The two teams met 13 times as members of the Midwestern Collegiate Conference (MCC) from 1982-1993. In the previous meeting between the two teams earlier this season back on Oct. 14, senior
Elliot Collier scored two goals and assisted on junior
Alec Lasinski's second-half tally to help push the Maroon & Gold past Evansville, 3-0, at Arad McCutchan Stadium. Freshman goalkeeper
Evan Konermann registered a pair of saves to earn a shutout.
Postseason Update: Loyola and Evansville both have plenty to play for entering the final game of the regular season. The Ramblers can still finish anywhere from third through seventh in the final league table, while the Purple Aces seed could range anywhere from fourth to seventh. With a win on Saturday night, Loyola will clinch a third-place finish in the final league table.
After This: After taking on the Purple Aces, Loyola will turn its attention towards the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship, Nov. 7-12, at Shea Stadium in Peoria, Ill.
