In Short…
Goals from juniors
Lindsey Hardiman and
Katharine Stephens, along with another stout defensive effort, pushed the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team past Valparaiso (0-13-1, 0-4-0 MVC) tonight, 2-0, at Loyola Soccer Park. This evening's victory sees the Ramblers, who now sit at 9-4-1 overall (4-0-0 MVC), extend their win streak to seven games, tying a program record set during the 2017 season.
Coach Barry Bimbi's Thoughts…
"It's always good to get three points at home. Our focus a couple of weeks ago with a run of three straight conference home games was to secure all nine points and put ourselves in a good situation. Valpo made it very hard on us tonight. They were very well organized and fought for every inch on the field."
How It Happened
Quality scoring opportunities were at a premium early on for both teams on a cool fall evening in Rogers Park. Alexis Gaffney sent an attempt wide of freshman goalkeeper
Grace Droessler's near post five minutes in, while senior
Aleksa Tataryn saw her shot blocked away by a Crusader defender in the 21
st minute.
The pairing of Hardiman and graduate student
Simone Wark linked up for Loyola's breakthrough just in front of the half-hour mark. Wark took off on a long run down the left flank, racing inside the 18-yard box, before sending a ball across the face of goal that connected with Hardiman, who sent a one-time effort in at the far post from six yards out to stake Loyola to a 1-0 lead. Valparaiso goalkeeper Kezia Gesell would respond with a denial of Tataryn in the 40
th minute to keep the Crusaders within one at halftime.
Loyola peppered the visitors' goal throughout the second half, beginning with a looping try from junior
Jenna Ross that rung off the crossbar just over two minutes in. Gesell did well to collect a blast from freshman
Megan Nemec in the 55
th minute, before turning in a pair of impressive saves in rapid succession five minutes after, turning away senior
Sienna Cruz and Wark from point-blank range.
Droessler was called back into action in the 61
st minute, notching her first save of the evening on a spirited effort from Maria Broecker. With Valparaiso pushing for an equalizer and time ticking away, the Ramblers cashed in for an insurance goal. Senior
Savanah Cruz chased down a bounding ball and raced into the box, where she connected with an unmarked Stephens, stretching the gap to 2-0. Droessler turned in her top save of the night inside regulation's final two minutes, parrying away Katie Hansen's one-on-one opportunity, to close out a two-goal victory.
Looking At The Numbers
- Tonight's victory marked Loyola's first over Valparaiso during the regular season since September 27, 2009.
- Hardiman and Stephens each tallied their second goals of the year in the win.
- Stephens, the reigning MVC Offensive Player of the Week, has a team-high seven points (two goals, three assists) to her name since the start of Valley play.
- Droessler recorded a pair of saves to secure Loyola's fifth straight shutout as the Rambler defensive unit extended its scoreless streak to 484 minutes.
Up Next
Loyola can now turn its attention towards a battle with fellow Valley unbeaten Illinois State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. from Adelaide Street Field in Normal, Ill. Like Loyola, Illinois State holds an unblemished 4-0-0 mark in conference play.
