Harrison Leads Women’s Soccer to 1-0 Victory Over Richmond

Women’s soccer returned to Rogers Park on a cold and windy Thursday night, where they defeated Atlantic-10 foe the University of Richmond 1-0 off the back of an early goal by third-year midfielder Taylor Harrison.

The Ramblers entered play 6-6-2 and 2-2-2 in conference play after splitting two games on the road, dropping 4-1 to the University of Massachusetts Oct. 1 and defeating Davidson College 1-0 Oct. 8. 

The Spiders walked onto Hoyne Field 3-8-3 overall and 1-5-0 in the A-10 after previously suffering a 4-0 defeat at the hands of Saint Louis University Oct. 8. 

Richmond controlled the pace of play in the first few minutes following kick-off. Momentum quickly shifted when Loyola converted on one of their first possessions of the game. Graduate midfielder Amanda Cassidy got the play in motion in the sixth minute when she found first-year forward Zoe Hevey on the wing. 

Hevey then grazed a near perfect cross into the box, finding Harrison open in the middle of the field where she tapped it past fourth-year Spider goalkeeper Taylor Montague. Both Cassidy and Hevey were credited with assists on the play.

Harrison’s goal — her seventh of the season — gave Loyola a 1-0 lead they wouldn’t let up for the rest of the game. Head coach Barry Bimbi said the early goal took the stress out of the game for him and his team.

“You come out, and you talk about how you want to execute and what you want out of the game,” Bimbi said. “We’ve been talking, you know, when you’re playing teams that, especially when they come here, they’re looking to get a zero-zero tie or maybe score off a set piece and get out with a win. So if you get that early goal now they have to come out and play a little bit, and it opens up the game for us.”

Richmond pushed hard after the goal but couldn’t capitalize on several opportunities, including a corner kick set piece in the eighth minute which was headed out of the danger zone by fourth-year defender Alaina Abel. 

Harrison nearly got herself a second goal just a few minutes later when a shot of hers went just left of the net in the 10th minute. Loyola maintained ball control during the next few minutes of play. The Rambler attack yielded several crosses and corner kicks but no goals resulted from the opportunities. 

The Spiders struggled to muster offensive pressure and didn’t get the ball past midfield until the 25th minute when they pushed deep into Loyola territory on a long pass but were quickly smothered by Abel and the Rambler backline. 

Richmond was held to just four shots all game while Loyola managed to get off 21 with seven on goal. 

In the 32nd minute, Hevey broke past a Spider defender and got off a strong shot on goal that was saved by Montague. Hevey found herself open for a shot again in the 36th minute, this time sailing just right of the goal. 

The teams traded unproductive possessions during the last 10 minutes of the first half and entered the locker rooms with Loyola ahead 1-0. 

The Ramblers nearly extended their lead early in the second half when Harrison found Hevey with a slick pass, but her shot was stopped by Montague in the 50th minute.

In the 58th minute, Abel nearly scored one with her head on a corner kick set piece, but it was deflected by a Spider defender. Hevey and the Ramblers kept pushing to extend the lead. A header by first-year midfielder Maggie Schmidt in the 65th minute was too strong and flew just over the crossbar. 

Bimbi said he was very happy with the number of quality chances Loyola had in the game despite not scoring again after Harrison’s goal. 

“You know, it would always be nice to get that second goal, take the emotion out of the game, but the performance from the first whistle to the last whistle was obviously first class from the girls so I couldn’t be prouder,” he said.

The Ramblers came closest to scoring again in the 70th minute when Montague saved a shot by third-year midfielder Jaimee Cibulka which bounced off of her into the box. First-year midfielder Faith Grisdale found the ball at her feet off the rebound and rocketed it back into Montague’s chest. 

The Ramblers made Montague work hard to keep her team in the match as she finished with nine saves. Meanwhile, Loyola graduate goalkeeper Naya Lipkens was only forced to make one save all game. 

Richmond pushed hard to tie it up during the final stretch of play while the Ramblers mainly fell back and played in a more defensive-oriented style. The Spiders struggled to beat the Ramblers defense and couldn’t get much going in the final 10 minutes. 

Following the final whistle, Bimbi said he thought the team did a really good job moving the ball and finding open players as well as having much success with their crosses. 

“It’s a good feeling but especially coming off of two wins and tonight’s performance, we know there’s quality in this group and it’s just gonna keep building,” he said. “They know the goals are gonna come if they keep producing quality opportunities like that.”

Loyola next travels to Philadelphia where they will face off against La Salle University Thursday, Oct. 19. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and broadcast information is yet to be announced.

Featured image by Max Bates | The Phoenix