Sept. 23, 2007

Final Stats

CHICAGO - Senior Katie Heidenreich finished with a goal and an assist as Loyola won consecutive games for the first time this season with a 2-0 win over Eastern Illinois this afternoon at Loyola Soccer Park. The Ramblers up their record to 4-5 on the year while sending the Panthers to 3-4-1.

"For me, I thought this was one of our best performances of the season," said head coach Frank Mateus. "It was great to get the result and we were able to play our game, which is maintain possession and be dangerous going forward."

Loyola opened the match strong, taking it to the Panthers with pace. Cynthia Morote-Ariza narrowly missed opening the scoring in the 18th minute, firing a rocket that Panther keeper Kaylin Lorbert was able to push against the bar. Sarah McPartlan had another golden opportunity in the 27th minute, as a loose ball landed right at her feet but she put her shot over the bar. However, Loyola got on the board shortly thereafter. After good work to earn a corner, Morote-Ariza's flag kick was headed up by Heather Lau to Heidenreich, who found the back of the net in the 31st minute for her first goal of the season.

Eastern Illinois had its best chance of the match in the early moments of the second half, as a right-wing cross found its way through a group of players to Rachel Hamilton but her point-blank shot was saved beautifully by Colleen Dougherty. With a stout defense holding off the Panthers, the Ramblers were able to seal the win in the waning seconds. Amanda Ward's throw-in hit Heidenreich in stride. Heidenreich fed a wide-open Ashley Morawski in the box and she rifled one past Lorbert in the 90th minute for the 2-0 final.

"I think we grew up a lot on Friday night in Green Bay," continued Mateus. "We played excellent soccer in the first half, were up 1-0 and then gave up two goals to go down 2-1, on the road in a tough environment. We found a way to get a result and I think we picked up a lot of confidence in doing so and that carried over to today."

Loyola enjoyed a 21-8 edge in shots but neither team was particularly accurate, with LU putting just six on the frame and Eastern putting just two.

The Ramblers enjoy a week off before returning to action next Sunday afternoon at Drake. Kick-off from Des Moines is scheduled for 1 p.m.