CHICAGO - Loyola Chicago's home opener is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. against Northern Illinois. The match marks Loyola's annual Hustle to Hoyne event as students kickoff the fall semester from the stands. Both the Ramblers and Huskies look to build off wins in their season openers earlier this week.
HUSTLE TO HOYNE
• Pep Rally at St. Ignatius Plaza at 11:45 am followed by march to Hoyne Field
• Jersey giveaway for the first 500 students
QUICK KICKS
• The Ramblers took home their first win earlier this week against Green Bay. Loyola scored twice in the second half for head coach
Kevin Robson's first career win.
•
Chimnosoh Okeke sent a cross in the box that made contact with
Mateusz Drazek before
Daniel Firs got his head on it for the game winner in the 52nd minute.
• The second goal of the match came in the 80th minute from
Seth Stewart who netted a deflection off the Green Bay goalkeeper to secure the 2-0 win.
• Loyola was tabbed seventh in the preseason poll earlier this week with 69 points.
• The Ramblers return 13 letterwinners, including five starters.
Jack McFeely is back for his senior season. Last year, McFeely totaled nine points off three goals and three assists.
•
Arved von Vegesack,
Luka Ivancic, and
Petar Janjic are also back in the Maroon & Gold. Vegesack scored two goals and tallied three assists for the Ramblers last year. Ivancic recorded two goals and two assists, while Janjic finished with one goal and three assists.
• Loyola added 13 newcomers, including eight freshmen.
Riley Ferraro, Okeke,
Braeden Wright,
Maxwell Ionita, and
Zach Dunne look to make their Maroon & Gold debut, while
Cohen Havill,
Shane Howard,
Nico Kehayov,
Caden Lee,
Chase Herbel,
Mateusz Drazek,
Foster Hayes, and
Ori Yedlin begin their collegiate careers this week.
• Vegesack has 12 career assists through two seasons with the Ramblers. He needs 18 to tie for eighth in the record book. To crack into the top-five, he needs 22 career assists.
• Head coach
Kevin Robson is in his first year at the helm. He was named the fifth head coach in program history in December 2025.
SCOUTING NORTHERN ILLINOIS
• NIU picked up with first win at Butler earlier this week, winning 2-0. Both Vance Sheffield and Tobias Crear scored for the Huskies.
• The Huskies were tabbed third in the Horizon League preseason poll as they open their first season in the league.
• NIU returns 14 players from last year's squad, including leading scorer Sheffield. He already found the back of the net earlier this week at Butler. He tallied six goals and five assists in 2025. Sheffield was named All-Missouri Valley Second Team and MVC All-Freshman Team last year.
SERIES HISTORY
Northern Illinois leads the all-time series, 13-8-3. Loyola has won the last five meetings dating back to the 2015 season. The last win came in 2020 with the Ramblers earning a 2-0 shutout.
