CHICAGO (September 23, 2021) – After picking up a point on the road to open Missouri Valley Conference play last weekend, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team (3-2-1, 0-0-1 MVC) returns home on Saturday to host Drake for its annual Alumni Night game at Loyola Soccer Park.  The 7 p.m. kickoff against the Bulldogs will be preceded by the Ramblers' women's soccer team's tilt with Northern Iowa at 4 p.m.
 
Last Time Out: Loyola turned in dominant efforts at both ends of the field, but was unable to find the back of the net as it settled for a 0-0 double-overtime draw with Evansville this past Saturday at Arad McCutchan Stadium.  The Ramblers finished the night with a 19-3 advantage in shots, led by a four-effort outing from Marc Torrellas.  Marcel Kampman added a pair of saves in goal to post his second shutout in as many games.
 
vs. Drake: Tabbed third in the MVC Preseason Poll, Drake, which sits at 4-1-0 (1-0-0 MVC), opened league play with a 2-1 win over Bradley last Saturday at the Cownie Soccer Complex in Des Moines, Iowa.
 
Under the direction of head coach Gareth Smith, the Bulldogs are coming off a spring campaign in which they finished 5-3-1 overall (5-2-1 MVC) en route to a runner-up finish in the final league table.
 
Juan Louis spearheads the attack for Smith's side, having netted a team-high three goals across five appearances.  Istvan Wilhems ranks second on the team in overall points, with a goal and an assist to his name.  Both found the back of the net in Drake's win over Bradley.  Jared Brown started in goal in each of the Bulldogs' first four games, compiling a 0.75 goals against average, before giving way to Quinn Millerd versus Bradley.  Millerd tallied three saves in the win over the Braves.
 
Series Stuff: Loyola and Drake will battle for the 22nd time on Saturday in Rogers Park.  The Bulldogs hold a slim 8-7-6 (.524) advantage in the all-time series, but Loyola has had the upper hand of late, going 6-1-5 (.708) in the last 12 meetings between the two teams.
 
After posting a 0-1-1 mark against Drake during the regular season this past spring, Loyola cruised to a 4-1 win over the Bulldogs in the semifinals of the 2020-21 MVC Men's Soccer Championship back on April 13 at Drake Stadium.  Billy Hency put Loyola on the board in the 33rd minute before a Bulldog own goal just before halftime canceled out Erik Sigman's equalizer.  Torrellas and Oscar Dueso added tallies during the second half.
 
Up Next: Loyola heads south to Peoria, Ill. on Wednesday, September 29 to take on Bradley at Shea Stadium.