The Valley on ESPN3 vs. Valparaiso | Live Stats vs. Valparaiso | The Valley on ESPN3 vs. La Salle | Live Stats vs. La Salle 

CHICAGO (August 31, 2017) – Fresh off a thrilling win to open the 2017 season, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team will return home this weekend to host a pair of games as part of the DoubleTree by Hilton North Shore Chicago Classic.  The Maroon & Gold will get an early start to the defense of their Missouri Valley Conference regular-season title when they host league newcomer Valparaiso on Friday at 7 p.m.  A 1 p.m. matinee on Sunday afternoon against La Salle wraps up the weekend.
 
Last Time Out: Junior Alec Lasinski found the back of the net just four minutes into the first overtime to complete a 2-1 comeback victory for Loyola over Xavier this past Friday in Cincinnati, Ohio. After conceding in the first half, senior Kyle Thomson pulled the Ramblers level in the 64th minute when he headed home a corner kick from junior Fabian Lifka. Freshman goalkeeper Aidan Aylward made one save en route to picking up the first victory of his collegiate career.
 
vs. Valparaiso: Valparaiso enters the weekend with an 0-1-1 record on the year after taking on a pair of Big 10 opponents. The Crusaders dropped a 2-1 decision at Northwestern last Friday before battling Michigan to a 1-1 double-overtime draw this past Monday in Ann Arbor, Mich. Adan Garcia and Jordan James have each tallied goals for head coach Mike Avery's team. The Crusaders will also look to lean on Ramone Howell (3 goals, 2 assists in 2016), who was named a Preseason All-MVC selection prior to the start of the season. Nacho Miras has started both games in goal for Valparaiso and sports a 1.32 goals against average. Friday evening's MVC opener will serve as the 27th all-time meeting between Loyola and Valparaiso in men's soccer. The Ramblers picked up their first win over the Crusaders since 2010 in last season's opener as current sophomore Marius Kullmann scored in the dying seconds of the first overtime to seal a 3-2 win at Loyola Soccer Park.
 
vs. La Salle: La Salle, which will take on DePaul on Friday afternoon in Lincoln Park, fell in heartbreaking fashion to Loyola (Md.) in its season-opener, 5-4, last Friday in Philadelphia, Pa. The Explorers return seven starters from last season's team that raced out to a program-best 5-1-0 start before finishing at 10-8-1. That group is highlighted by the pairing of Matt Robinson (6 goals, 6 assists in 2016) and Johnny Ciarlante (4 goals, 1 assist in 2016).  Sunday's weekend finale will serve as only the fourth meeting in the all-time series between Loyola and La Salle in men's soccer.  The two programs have not clashed since a 5-1 Explorer victory during the 1994 season.

After This: Loyola will make the short trip west to DeKalb, Ill. next week to take part in the NIU Adidas Invitational.  The Ramblers are scheduled to face The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (Sept. 8) and Stetson (Sept. 10), respectively, as part of the two-day event.