In Short…
It took more than 90 minutes for a goal to be scored in Friday night's match between Loyola and Northwestern. The tie was broken when Northwestern's Camden Buescher notched the deciding goal in the 99^th minute.
 
Coach Jones' Thoughts
"I thought in the first half we played well. We had a good response from our result on Sunday," head coach Neil Jones said. "We just wanted the guys to work harder and be smarter with the ball and how we defended… It was a good overall effort, obviously a disappointing result, but we have to look big picture here and the Missouri Valley Conference is our ticket to the big dance."
 
How it Happened
In front of a packed house at Loyola Soccer Park, the Maroon and Gold registered the first quality chance of the evening when senior Tucker Stephenson put one on net from outside the box. 'Cats goalkeeper Miha Miskovic kept himself in position to make the first save of the night.
 
In the 19^th minute, freshman Fabian Becerra found himself in position for a beautiful look that took a diving save from Miskovic to keep it out of the net. The teams went to halftime tied 0-0, with the Ramblers holding a 3-0 shots on goal advantage.
 
A corner kick (56^th minute) and a yellow card (60^th minute) at the hands of Northwestern was the first action in the second half. With the wind at their backs, the Wildcats flipped the script and kept play in the Loyola end for a lot of the half, and first hit the scoresheet with a shot that sailed wide in the 68^th minute.
 
Northwestern's Tommy Katsiyiannis was in the middle of the action in the 83^rd minute with back-to-back shot attempts, getting one blocked and sending the other high.
 
After 90 minutes couldn't decide a winner, the teams geared up for overtime with the shots on goal advantage still sitting at 3-0, Loyola. Northwestern sought out the first chance in the bonus period with a corner kick 35 seconds in – an attempt that Loyola cleared out of the box.
 
Freshman Billy Hency started the overtime period and recorded the Ramblers' only shot attempt of the extra frame. His tally in the 95^th minute went wide.
 
With time winding down, Northwestern's Camden Buescher beat Loyola's Simon Jillson in the 99^th minute to propel the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory and spoil the 'Hustle to Hoyne' festivities.  
 
A Look at the Numbers
-After almost three full stanzas of play, the two teams tied in shots, 6-6.
-The Ramblers held the Wildcats to just one shot on goal, tied for the lowest total in a match this season.
-Freshman Oskar Gustafsson recorded his second shot on goal of the season, resulting in his second consecutive match with a shot on goal.
-The Wildcats committing 14 fouls to Loyola's nine represents the 4th time this season the Maroon and Gold have drawn more fouls than their opponent in a match.
 
Up Next
The Ramblers' next match is a week from Saturday against the SIUE Cougars on Sept. 15, the first of two consecutive road contests. The 7 p.m. tilt is the 10^th time Loyola and SIUE will go head to head, and represents the sixth consecutive year of at least one regular season matchup.