Aug. 21, 2011

CHICAGO - Junior forward Ana Claudia Michelini scored early in the second half to drive the Loyola University Chicago women's soccer team past Gonzaga, 1-0, at Loyola Soccer Park on Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011. The Ramblers improve to 2-0 on the season while the Bulldogs fall to 0-2.

"Obviously it is nice to win both games in the opening weekend and get the team and the program headed in the right direction. Still out of this game, we have a lot of things to work on defensively. We've talked as a staff and there are a lot of things that we need to do. That being said, we have two shutouts in the first two games. It is exciting that we have been successful, but we have a lot of things to work on," said head coach Barry Bimbi.

Tessa Daniels set up the goal off of a free kick just outside the penalty box. Daniels fired a cross through the middle and connected with Michelini, who scored with a header to the upper left corner of the net, just past goalie Susan Brown's fingertips.

"Tessa played a great ball in. It was a great diagonal ball with a great pace. Ana made a brilliant run and had a flash header that beat the goalkeeper," Bimbi said.

Jessie Hubly tallied three shots for the Ramblers while Lauren Ostarello added two shots to the team total of eight.

Freshman Monica Gonyo earned her second shutout as Loyola's starting goalkeeper, making two saves in the win. The Loyola defense, led by Hubly and freshman Valerie Gonyo, had another strong performance catching the Bulldogs offsides on three occasions and limiting scoring opportunities to allow only six shots in the match.

Next weekend, the Ramblers will head five miles up the road to compete in the Northwestern Tournament in Evanston, Ill. Loyola will face Dayton at 2:30 p.m. CT on Aug. 26 before closing out the weekend against Cincinnati at noon on Aug. 28.

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