CHICAGO (Nov. 6, 2021) – Heading into the final game of the regular season, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team (9-4-1, 6-2-1) will prepare for a battle with Missouri Valley Conference rival No. 11 Missouri State (14-1, 9-0).
The Ramblers already secured the No. 2 seed behind the Bears for the MVC Championships beginning next week. This is the fourth straight MVC tournament where Loyola did not have to play in the quarterfinal round.
Last Time Out: In a thrilling match against the SIUE Cougars, the Ramblers put up a fight. Loyola dominated SIUE in shots and possession in the attacking end of the field, but it wasn't enough to come out with a win.
After the first 90 minutes of play, no one was able to score as the Cougars and Ramblers went into overtime. It took until the 109th minute for someone to score and, unfortunately, SIUE was the one to do it. The Ramblers lost 1-0 in double overtime to the Cougars.
Series Stuff: Missouri State controls the history between these two teams as Loyola has a 5-8-3 record for this series. The last time the Ramblers and the Bears faced off against one another was in Springfield on Oct. 9, when the Bears won 2-1 in double overtime.
On their home field, the Maroon & Gold have a 2-2-2 record against the Bears. Heading into this match, the Ramblers will look to give the Bears their first conference loss of the season as Missouri State has yet to lose a conference game this season.
Loyola and Missouri State are the two teams battling for the top spots in most of the conference statistical categories. The Bears barely have the lead in shots, points, goals and goals-against average while the Ramblers lead in assists. Individually,
Billy Hency for Loyola leads in every offensive statistical category in the MVC except for shots on goal.
On defense, both teams seem to be a pretty even matchup. In net for the Ramblers,
Marcel Kampman has played every minute this year and has a GAA of .817 while Missouri State's Michael Creek barely edged him out of the top spot with a .657 GAA.
Up Next: The Ramblers will be back in action for the MVC Championships. With a bye in the first round, they will have off until Nov. 12. Loyola will not know who they are playing until Nov. 9, which is when the quarterfinal matches will take place. Check our website at loyolaramblers.com for updates on the tournament.
