In Short…
Chase Wright scored his first collegiate goal to push Loyola to a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Missouri State. The victory improved Loyola to 2-0-2 in conference play and handed the Bears their first loss of the season.

Coach Jones' Thoughts
"We dug in tonight," head coach Neil Jones said. "We made a few technical adjustments, one in the second half that led us to getting more of a wide service. Then Chase Wright made a huge play that got us the result tonight."
 
How It Happened
Aidan Megally's header effort in the 6^th minute was turned away by the MSU goalkeeper, but got the Ramblers on the board in the shots on goal department. Megally's header was the only official SOG of the first half.
 
Megally again came close to finding the back of the net in the 37^th minute with an open look, but ripped a shot high of the cross bar. The Park Ridge, Ill. native engineered those two chances, but offense was at a premium in the first half with both teams combining for three shots as the clock hit zero on the first stanza.
 
The Maroon and Gold broke the ice in the 62^nd minute on Chase Wright's first collegiate goal. Fabian Becerra directed a cross to Wright's area, who knocked it home to put the Ramblers ahead 1-0. The helper was Becerra's second assist of the season.
 
Seeing as playing with the lead has been a common occurrence in recent action, Loyola stayed the course and managed the clock to the tune of only allowing two shots after Wright's goal.
 
After spending a fair amount of time on Loyola's end of the field, Missouri State came close to tying up the match in the 83^rd minute. Lagudah announced his presence with his second save of the night to rob Kyle Hiebert from close range to keep his team in front. That proved to be the last quality scoring chance for the Bears, as Loyola held on from there and completed the job to earn the conference win.
 
A Look At The Numbers
-The win over No. 25 Missouri State was the team's first against a United Soccer Coaches Top-25 team since Sept. 9, 2016 vs. No. 12 Utah Valley.
-Chase Wright's first collegiate goal made him the eighth Rambler to find the back of the net this season.
-The shutout marked Josh Lagudah's second stretch of three consecutive shutouts this season.
-Helped by a Bradley loss on Saturday night, Loyola officially clinched a spot in the 2018 MVC Tournament.
 
Up Next
Loyola will play its newly added match against Moody Bible Institute on Tuesday night at Loyola Soccer Park. First kick against the Archers is set for 7 p.m.