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CHICAGO (October 26, 2018) – The Loyola Ramblers men's soccer team has won five matches in a row and are unbeaten in their last seven. A win or a tie on Saturday (Oct. 27) at Central Arkansas would be the longest unbeaten streak since 2015. A win would also clinch the MVC regular season championship for the second time in three years, while capping off the first unbeaten conference regular season in program history.

Last Time Out: In a night dedicated to cancer awareness, Loyola defeated Northern Illinois, 1-0 thanks to Alec Lasinski's 79^th minute goal. The tally was the first of the season for the Ann Arbor, Mich. native and is now two points shy of 30 for his career. The goal was assisted by Tucker Stephenson, who has registered a helper in two consecutive outings. The low-scoring affair was highlighted by a stellar performance in goal from Josh Lagudah. After a seven-save outing vs. the Huskies that extended his conference-leading shutout total to eight, Lagudah is rewriting the program record book. He has not allowed a goal in almost 500 consecutive minutes on the pitch (492:11) and has logged eight shutouts to date – tied for sixth best in a season. The Canberra, Australia native has shutout the opposition five times in a row, which is two shy of Tim Dobrowski's program record set back in 2015.

A Look at Central Arkansas: The defending Missouri Valley champions were picked to finish third in the preseason MVC rankings, and sit in that spot entering the big weekend with Loyola. The Bears have been productive on offense by ranking tied for the conference lead in goals (21) and lead in shots (213) – while also checking in at third nationally in shots on goal per game (7.69). Niklas Brodacki's seven goals leads the team and is tied for second in the MVC. In just his junior season, the Norrkoping, Sweden native has 37 career goals, which is tied for 9^th in Missouri Valley Conference history. The Bears are looking for their first win since Oct. 6 (0-1-2 in the last three) and must win in order to keep their regular season title hopes alive.
 
Series Stuff: The Ramblers and Bears have been evenly matched in the brief six-game history, a series that sees the Ramblers in front, 3-2-1. Highlights include last year's 'Hustle To Hoyne' tilt at Loyola Soccer Park that was the highest attended match of the season, and the 3-1 victory in 2016 for the team's first on the road in Central Arkansas. It was Elliot Collier's pair of goals in the first half that propelled the Ramblers to victory last time they were down there, and catapulted a six-match unbeaten streak that saw the Maroon and Gold collect 10 points in the MVC standings. Loyola's two-game winning streak (2015-16) is the longest between the teams, while the Ramblers also posted a four-match unbeaten streak that overlapped that stretch.
 
Up Next: Loyola finishes off the regular season on the road against the University of Washington on Thursday, November 1 – the second ever meeting between the two programs. The contest with the Huskies is the Ramblers' first on a Thursday this year, and the first matchup with a Pac-12 team.

#OnwardLU