ANN ARBOR, Mich. – After a hard-fought 90 minutes of play, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team fell, 1-0, at Michigan to open the regular season. Despite the loss, the Ramblers gained valuable road experience that will pay off when Atlantic 10 play begins in September.

"Overall, from a performance standpoint, the guys worked hard," said Head Coach Steve Bode. "In terms of the game plan we had, the guys executed it really well. Overall, we were proud of the effort and work rate. The difference was in the penalty areas, especially in the last couple of chances in the box when we had good looks on goal. Our guys gave everything, we applaud their performance and if it's like that, we have a lot to look forward to,"

How it Happened
Ben Bischof had an opportunity in the 20^th minute after Quinten Blair fed him the ball from Michigan's attacking zone thanks to a turnover. On a breakaway, Bischof nearly had enough speed to split the U-M defenders, but he was fouled just outside of the penalty box. A yellow card was issued to Michigan's Will Baker, giving Loyola its first set piece of the regular season. Luka Ivancic attempted the free kick, but his shot rattled off the wall.   

A few moments later, a Julian Cisneros tossed the ball into the box with a throw in. A chaotic sequence led Cisneros to a one-timer chance to the lower right side of the goal, but his shot was saved.
  
From there, Loyola Chicago fended off five shots, including two on-goal, before Matthew Andrusko had an opportunity in the 39^th minute. The redshirt junior dribbled the ball up to 10 yards outside of the box, took a step to his right, and rocketed off a shot just above the crossbar and out of play, leaving the match at 0-0.  

In the 46th minute, Cisneros launched a powerful shot from well outside the box, testing the keeper early in the second half. His shot was wide left, but the Ramblers kept the attack up and continued to search for chances. 16 minutes later though, the Wolverines found the back of the net to break the 0-0 deadlock in the 63^rd minute.

The Maroon and Gold had five more shots through fulltime, including two on-target by Benji Chavarria and Blair. LUC's best opportunity came in the 87th minute when Ivancic narrowly mistimed his strike in front of an open goal, following a well-placed cross from Chavarria. In the end, Loyola fell, 1-0, to open the season.

Notes

• Loyola had 12 shots compared to Michigan's 14.
• Aidan Crawford tallied three saves in goal for the Ramblers.
• Cisneros and Ivancic led the way with three shots each.
• Five yellow cards were issued through fulltime (two to LUC, three to U-M).

Up Next
The Ramblers remain on the road to open the season as the squad travels to the state of Nebraska for the recently renewed Jesuit Invitational. The 'Blers take on Creighton to kick things off Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT in Omaha with the match streaming live on FloSports.

"These next two games are going to be another great challenge. In terms of scheduling, we're going to find out more and more about ourselves in these tight moments. How can we turn a 1-0 lose into a win? I'm excited to see how we respond and it's going to be a great experience. They are two really tough teams but it will a great challenge."