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Oct. 5, 2005

CHICAGO, Ill. -

Loyola Heads To Youngstown State, hosts Mid-Con leader Valparaiso This Week: Loyola University Chicago women's soccer finishes a three-match road stretch with a Horizon League meeting at Youngstown State on Thursday, Oct. 6, beginning at 1 p.m. The Ramblers then return to Loyola Soccer Park for a non-conference match against Mid-Continent Conference leader Valparaiso on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m.

Scouting The Ramblers: Loyola brings a 3-5-1 record (0-1 Horizon League) into this week's action. The Maroon and Gold posted dropped its league opener at UW-Green Bay, 6-2, on Sept. 26 before posting on a 1-1 tie Sept. 30 at IPFW. Junior midfielder/forward Mary Dale is LU's scoring leader with 10 points (four goals and two assists). Sophomore Amy Lomas is second with nine points on four goals and an assist, while fellow classmate Katie Heidenreich has six points (two goals and two assists) along with a team-best 25 shots. Heidenreich is tied with Dale and senior midfielder/defender Jamie Wasielewski for the team lead in assists. Junior goalkeeper Emily Peick leads LU with 23 saves, while sophomore Lauren Sommer has posted 22 saves in goal for the Ramblers.

Scouting The Penguins: Younsgtown State heads into Thursday's match sporting a record of 0-12 this year, including an 0-7 mark at Stambaugh Stadium. The Penguins are 0-1 in Horizon League play after falling at home to Wright State on Sept. 25 by a 1-0 margin. YSU dropped its two road matches last weekend at Niagara (4-0) on Sept. 30 and at Canisius (2-0) Oct. 2. Senior Sadie Brookman and sophomore Brittny Humphrey have scored a goal apiece to lead Younsgtown State, while freshman Caitlin Lee has posted an assist. Senior Jessica Yarter leads YSU with 75 saves with a .779 save percentage on the season.

Series History: Loyola leads the all-time series with Youngstown State by a 3-1 margin since the Penguins entered the Horizon League in 2001. Last season, the Ramblers posted a 6-0 shutout victory over YSU in their league opener at Loyola Soccer Park. The Penguins recorded a 1-0 win over Loyola in the team's first meeting in Youngstown during the 2003 season.

Scouting The Crusaders: Valparaiso enters the week with a 6-4-1 mark on the year and currently holds the top spot in the Mid-Continent Conference standings. The Crusaders, who will battle Mid-Con foe Centenary at home this Friday, posted a 2-1 win over defending Mid-Con champion Oral Roberts last weekend in Tulsa, Okla. Junior Kendall Brown is VU's scoring leader with 19 points on eight goals and three assists for the season. Brown also leads the Mid-Con in several categories, including goals, points and shot attempts, while sophomore Emily King is the Mid-Con's assist leader with four. Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Murray has tallied 47 saves and a 1.35 goals-against average for Valparaiso.

Series History: The Ramblers hold an 8-4 record lifetime against Valparaiso, including a 3-3 mark at home. LU has captured the last three contests in the series over the Crusaders, including a 5-1 win on the road last year. Valpo's last win over Loyola came during the 2000 season at home by a 1-0 margin.

Coach Mateus on Youngstown State and Valparaiso: "It's a critical week for us as we get back into league play at Youngstown State, which is a tough place to play. It's going to be a battle with them, but I hope that we're able to find our scoring touch this week. Coming back a few days later against a good Valpo squad will be a real test for this team. This week becomes very critical since we have only a month left in league play before the league tournament. It really does become important for us to start putting the pieces together in order to play as well as we can for good results to happen on the field."

Rambler Ramblings: Freshman midfielder Nina Noll became the third Loyola player this season to record a career point for the first time after assisting on Katie Heidenreich's goal at UW-Green Bay on Sept. 26... Fellow classmate Christy Reichgelt returned to her home state of Wisconsin and played the final 7:11 in her first collegiate match against the Phoenix... The Ramblers have tallied a 1-1-1 record in their last three matches... Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Sommer matched her career-high total of five saves at IPFW... Loyola has one player on the roster from the state of Ohio in sophomore midfielder Danielle Persiano (Chagrin Falls).

And Those Twins: Sophomores Katie and Laura Heidenreich scored their first goal on Sept. 26 at UW-Green Bay to become the first set of identical twins to score in a collegiate soccer match since the 2004 season. Laura, a defender, tallied her first collegiate score in the 66th minute off a header, while Katie, a forward, scored seven minutes later on a 20-yard shot. The two sets of identical twins that scored in a match were the Vietry sisters (Stephanie and Samantha) from Temple and the Tornaritis brothers (Anthony and Nick) from Harvard.

Free Soccer: Loyola has managed to play overtime twice in the past couple of weeks. The Ramblers posted a 3-2 win at Illinois State on Sept. 22 before taking a 1-1 tie at IPFW on Sept 30. Last season, LU compiled a 2-0-4 mark in six overtime contests and played extra time in both their Horizon League championship tournament matches.

New Ramblers in 2005: Loyola welcomes 10 newcomers for the 2005 season that include two freshmen starters in defender Caitlin Brown and midfielder Nina Noll. Other newcomers are freshmen Samantha Kufta, Brittany Lambert, Alexia Murray, Christy Reichgelt, Pam Staton, Selina Thanadabouth and Brittney Zuzindlak and sophomore transfer Mallory Moylan.

Looking Ahead: The Ramblers continue their three-match homestand at Loyola Soccer Park with a pair of Horizon League contests next weekend. LU takes on Detroit on Oct. 14 at 4 p.m., then hosts Butler on Oct. 16 at 11:30 a.m.