OMAHA, Neb. – Playing its first match a part of the recently renewed Jesuit Invitational, the Loyola University Chicago men's soccer team drew, 1-1, with Creighton Thursday afternoon on the road at Morrison Stadium. Sophomore Jack McFeely scored Loyola's goal in the 48^th minute, his second as a Rambler.

How it Happened
In the 11th minute, Hugo Urdiales, making his first NCAA start, took the Ramblers' (0-1-1) first shot of the contest. After a turnover near the Bluejays' box, Urdiales fired a strike, but it sailed over the crossbar.

Aidan Crawford snuffed Creighton's (1-0-2) first chance, saving a cross from inside the left side of the box with his lower body in the 12^th minute. But his first official save came in the 24^th minute after a water break. The Wilmette, Ill. native made a diving save to his right after a strike from approximately 25 yards out, keeping the match level at 0-0.

Creighton, however, kept the attack up and sent off five more shots before breaking through in the 39^th minute. The Bluejays scored the first goal of the game as Andrija Savic scored in the top left corner of the goal after a corner kick.

Early in the second half, the Ramblers netted the equalizer in the 48th minute. McFeely, receiving a pass from Julian Cisneros and Quinten Blair just outside the box, unleashed a powerful right-footed strike. The Derry, Northern Ireland native sent the ball soaring past the keeper and into the back of the net. The goal marked Loyola's first of 2024 and McFeely's second ever.

Two lightning delays forced the teams to break from the action, but when the match resumed, the back-and-forth affair picked back up immediately. LUC had an opportunity to take the lead in the 77^th minute after Matthew Andrusko sent Cisneros a beautiful cross into the box. Cisneros blasted the ball with one touch, but his attempt was too high.     

Another great opportunity came in the 82^nd minute when Luka Ivancic crossed the ball to a wide-open Michael Hong directly in front of the goal. Hong connected with his head, but his shot was just out of reach of the back of the net.

The shot marked Loyola's final chance at taking a late lead as the battle ended in a 1-1 draw.

"I think that it's very unusual to have a four hour soccer match," said head coach Steve Bode. "Just coming off the field, coming back on. It really was a mental test for us and for the players, so I just want to give the players a lot of credit. They dug deep to get the result that we got. Creighton is a difficult team to play, and especially at home. But we were able to really withstand a lot of what they were throwing at us, and I thought we actually had some really good chances, especially in the second half,"

Notes

• Urdiales led LUC with a team-high three shots with one being on-goal.
• Crawford ended the night with eight saves, a career-high for the redshirt sophomore.
• The Ramblers' defense held the Bluejays to just one goal when the match prior, Creighton scored five against Drake.
• McFeely's goal marked the second of his career.
• Cisneros logged his 10^th career assist while Blair notched his third ever.
• Creighton led with 20 (10) shots while the Maroon and Gold had 7 (2).

Up Next
The Ramblers' Jesuit Invitational run ends this Sunday (Sept. 1) as the team plays Omaha. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. CT and will stream live on Midco Sports Plus. But before the match, the three Jesuit schools will break from soccer and give back to the Omaha community. The squads will serve at Completely Kids, The Jesuit Academy, the Simple Foundation, and Football for the World, all of which support Omaha youth with the goal of bettering the community.

"The Jesuit Invitational is an amazing event, thanks to people like our alum Jim Ambrose, who has devoted his time, finances, and energy to make it happen. We're incredibly grateful," continued Bode. "While we're focused on winning championships, the bigger picture is about giving back to the community. This will be a memorable experience for our guys, both on and off the field, including matches against tough opponents like Creighton and Omaha, and our service work with other like-minded teams. We're excited for tomorrow and Sunday's game."