CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago will play a lone match this week on the road at Michigan State. Kickoff between the Ramblers and Spartans is 6:30 p.m. CT. Loyola looks to bounce back from a loss over the weekend at Iowa, while Michigan State opened the year with a win over Xavier and remains undefeated.

QUICK KICKS
• The Ramblers won their home opener against Central Michigan Wednesday, marking the fourth win over the Chippewas in program history. Loyola now leads that series 4-2.
• Maggie Schmidt put the Ramblers on the board in the eighth minute of play against CMU. Schmidt's unassisted strike at the 7:25 mark proved to be the game-winner, as the Ramblers' defense held Central Michigan scoreless for the remainder of the match.
• Loyola held a 10-8 advantage on shots, putting five on target. The Ramblers held CMU to just three on goal attempts. All were saved by Allison Deardorff between the posts. Deardorff tallied the win and shutout. It marks her 19th career win and 19th career shutout for Loyola.
• Loyola closed opening week at Iowa after the win. The Ramblers fell to the Hawkeyes, 5-0. Deardorff made 10 saves in goal, falling just one shy of her career-best.
• Loyola standout Zoe Hevey earned a pair of preseason honors. Hevey was named to the 2026 IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Positional Players to Watch list for forwards. She was also selected to the 2026 Atlantic 10 Women's Soccer Preseason All-Conference Team.
• Hevey led Loyola last season in points (16), goals (5), assists (6), shots (67), and shots on-goal (27).
• The preseason recognition comes as Loyola enters the 2026 campaign with high expectations, as the Ramblers were picked fifth in the 14-team Atlantic 10 preseason poll with 133 points.
• Loyola added 10 newcomers in the offseason, including seven freshmen and three transfers.
• Head coach Jon Sandoval is in his second season leading the Ramblers. He holds a 10-5-6 record with Loyola. Over his seven year head coaching career, Sandoval sits at 72-25-21 overall.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans debuted at No. 7 in both the United Soccer Coaches and Top Drawer Soccer preseason polls. MSU was also selected as the preseason favorite in the Big Ten, earning its first-ever No. 1 in the Conference preseason poll.
• The Spartans went 15-4-6 last season, finishing second in the Big Ten with a 7-1-3 record. MSU made it to the NCAA Quarterfinals before bowing out of the tournament.
• Michigan State returns 10 starters, including five All-Big Ten selections. Kennedy Bell returns to defend her Forward of the Year honor, while Kayla Briggs was a 2026 All-American. Both scored in the win over Xavier last week to open the season.

SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State leads the all-time series, 7-0. The teams last played in 2024. The No. 5 ranked Spartans managed a goal in the 84th minute to come away with a 1-0 win over the Ramblers.