Aug. 28, 2011

CHICAGO - After two hard-fought halves and a double overtime extension, the Loyola women's soccer team (2-1-1) settled for a scoreless draw this afternoon when it faced Cincinnati (2-1-1) as part of the Northwestern Tournament in Evanston, Ill.

Both teams started off a bit slow in the first half, but picked it up to create a game of back-and-forth banter that would last the entirety of the match. The Ramblers collected a little momentum when junior Jessie Hubly made a great play at the goal line, using her head for the team save on what would have been a Bearcat goal. Loyola started creating scoring opportunities and forcing the Bearcats to defend for the rest of the first half.

The Bearcats had a chance to take the lead in the second half when a foul inside the box by the Ramblers set up a penalty kick. Logan Ballinger stepped up to take the kick and fired a shot straight into the right post for a deflection. With less than two minutes left in the match, Hubly took her turn at the game-winner and sent a bullet just wide of the net.

Sophomore Tricia Stonebraker came out right away in the first overtime period to tally a shot on goal and set the energy for the extra stage. Despite aggressive attempts to notch the game-winning goal, the Ramblers were held off by the Bearcat defense and were forced to take their first tie of the season.

Stonebraker led the Ramblers with fives shots and two shots on goal while Allison Shimer, Valerie Gonyo, Elyssa Kulas, and Jessie Hubly registered one shot apiece. Senior Katie Groesch earned her first start of the season at goalkeeper and came away with eight saves on the match. As a team, Loyola had 10 shots while Cincinnati tallied 17.

The Ramblers will return to Loyola Soccer Park on Sept. 2 to battle Northern Iowa. Kick-off is set for 7:00 CST.

http://loyolaramblers.cstv.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/082811aaa.html