In Short…
Aidan Megally scored the lone goal of the match in double-overtime to send Loyola to the Missouri Valley Conference FInals on Sunday (Nov. 11) at 1 p.m. It will be the first time the Ramblers will play in the conference championship since joining the Valley in 2013.
 
How It Happened
Drake notched the first quality scoring chance of the match on a 13^th minute corner kick. Steven Enna registered a header, but the Loyola back line did a good job to clear it out of harm's way. Lagudah then made a save of his own in the 23^rd minute off another Enna header.
 
More team defense proved necessary in the 38^th minute when the Bulldogs appeared to have an open net. Drake's Ryan Johnston got a shot off, but Grant Stoneman was hustling back and saved the day by clearing the shot attempt wide – earning Loyola a team save.
 
Fabian Becerra opened the second half with a shot that went wide, followed closely by the Ramblers' first shot on goal: a 58^th minute shot from Billy Hency. After Ryan Walker had his shot blocked in the 62^nd minute, the half progressed as uneventful the rest of the way with neither team notching a shot.
 
90 minutes wasn't enough to figure out who would advance, and late in the extra stanza, it appeared it would be Drake. In a fast-paced 100^th minute sequence, Josh Lagudah made a save off a Cole Poppen shot, setting up a chance that saw the Bulldogs hit the post moments later. By the time the teams caught their breaths from the madness, the clock hit triple-zero and advanced to a second overtime.
 
Just as the match appeared to be heading toward penalty kicks, Aidan Megally picked up his fourth goal of the year to set a single-season career high, and more importantly send his team to the championship on Sunday afternoon. In a play that began with an Alec Lasinski feed, Megally knocked it home to keep Loyola's season going.
 
A Look At The Numbers
-Megally's tally was his third game-winner of the season. It also set single-season personal bests in goals (4) and points (8).
-The conference tournament double-overtime goal was the program's first since joining the MVC in 2013.
-Loyola was out-shot, 9-5. Friday was the fourth time this season the Ramblers won despite being out-shot.
-Loyola now has hit double-digit wins for the third time in the last four years.
 
Up Next
Loyola plays the winner of the Missouri State-Central Arkansas match on Sunday at 1 p.m. at McCutchan Stadium. The winner of the MVC finals will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.