PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 4, 2023) – The Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team
(6-2-2, 2-1-1 A10) added a fifth shutout to its 2023 resume with a 3-0 road win over La Salle
(4-4-3, 1-1-2 A10) Wednesday afternoon. While clicking on offense, the Loyola Chicago backline held the Explorers to just one shot through the full 90.
"I thought it was a really disciplined consistent team performance today," said head Loyola Chicago coach
Steve Bode. "We had so many guys contribute to it. Obviously, we subbed a lot, especially in the second half. So, the fact that we had a lot of guys play, we got the win on the road, got three points in the league, was huge. I was proud of the mentality that the guys brought today,"
How it Happened
Just seven minutes into the contest, Loyola's first shot attempt flew past the La Salle keeper. Gates, scoring his second goal of the season, broke through the Explorers' backline, onside, and found the ball from Marc Torellas. A quick touch to the right around the keeper set up his strike as LUC took its first lead of the match.
The Ramblers later doubled their advantage in the 48
th minute when
Markus Maurer posted his fifth goal of the year. Maurer found the back of the net after securing a pass from teammate
Ryan Van De Winkle.
Later in the 73
rd minute,
Jack McFeely gave the Maroon and Gold a 3-0 lead over La Salle with his first collegiate goal. McFeely controlled a deep pass from keeper
Aidan Crawford. McFeely did the rest as Loyola Chicago took command of the match.
Notes
- Head coach Steve Bode got to celebrate his birthday with a win!
- It was the first time since joining the league that Loyola held an A-10 foe to just one shot attempt.
- The 'Blers rocketed off seven shots with five landing on-goal.
- Crawford's assist was the first of his career.
- McFeely, a freshman, netted his first career goal.
- Maurer's five goals this year leads the team.
- Gates brought his season point total to nine with his game-winning goal.
Up Next
The Ramblers return to action this Saturday (Oct. 7) as they face Dayton on the road. Kick off is set for 6 p.m. CT in Ohio.
"It's going to be a tough game. Dayton is a very explosive, attacking team that's scored a lot of goals this year. A road game in the A-10 is never easy. But I like the way that we're playing right now. As a team, I think we are ready for the challenge that Dayton will bring. We talked about bouncing back - good teams bounce back and, VCU was certainly a tough result to swallow but I feel like we're playing well."
