Men’s Soccer Exacts Revenge on No. 24 Saint Louis In 3-1 Home Victory

Loyola men’s soccer knocked off No. 24 Saint Louis University 3-1 Saturday afternoon in an exhilarating rematch of the 2022 Atlantic-10 championship game. 

Head coach Steve Bode said it was a huge win for the players and the program, especially after SLU defeated the Ramblers on penalty kicks to win the A-10 conference last season.

“Listen, they ended our season last year, let’s face it,” Bode said. “So our players are more motivated than ever to get them in Chicago when we had to play them twice in St. Louis, two tight games that didn’t go our way.”

Loyola entered the game fifth in the A-10 with a league record of 2-1-2 and 6-2-3 overall following a 3-3 draw against Dayton University Oct. 7. SLU made the trip to Chicago sitting in first place with an A-10 record of 4-0-1 and an overall record of 7-3-2. 

Bode said they knew the high ranked Billikens squad was going to be a challenge to beat.

“I told the players that we needed to have a certain kind of mentality today to outwork Saint Louis,” he said. “That was our whole thing, can we outwork them? Which is a very difficult task because they are a very good team and a very strong team.”

The Ramblers exploded out of the gates. They rushed downfield and got off two shots in quick succession the first three minutes. The first shot by first-year forward Petar Janjic was saved by first-year SLU goalkeeper Mason Hart. The second by fourth-year forward Oscar Dueso bounced off the crossbar. 

Loyola eventually found the back of the net and began to celebrate, but the goal was called back due to an offsides call, draining the game’s initial excitement. Despite ultimately coming up empty handed, Bode said the early pressure was a defining factor in the game.

“We just set the tone right away, and I thought that was so important in this game that they knew they were going to be in for a huge fight today with us,” he said.

Loyola had another good look in the 11th minute when a cross by graduate midfielder Markus Maurer on a fast break looked promising but slipped past a series of Ramblers.

SLU struggled to get anything going offensively in the first half, and the Ramblers defense didn’t allow a single shot by the Billikens in the first 45 minutes. Second-year SLU forward Jack Sullivan produced a flash of offensive prowes in the 15th minute, beating several Ramblers off the jump. However, he was throttled by third-year Rambler defender Lukas Ender before his fellow Billikens could catch up to him.

Dueso broke the match open in the 18th minute when third-year forward John Gates crossed the ball into the middle of the box, where Maurer made a play with his head and found Dueso in front of the goal. Dueso went right around a defender and bounced a shot past a diving Hart. 

Maurer was credited with an assist on the play, giving the Ramblers a 1-0 lead and Dueso his fifth goal of the season. Loyola kept their foot on the gas and pushed downfield soon after the goal, a corner kick set piece in the 20th minute looked dangerous before Gates was caught offside, bringing the opportunity to an early end. 

In the 28th minute, fancy footwork by Dueso allowed him to beat the defense and find Maurer in the box. Maurer got two shots off both of which were deflected by Billikens defenders before eventually rolling out for a Loyola corner kick. 

In the 29th minute, it was Janjic’s turn to play the hero. Third-year defender Julian Cisneros created the opportunity when he drove deep into the box then turned and launched a cross which found a leaping Janjic. He headed it past Hart, picking up his fifth goal of the season in the process and extending the Rambler lead to two.

After the game, Janjic said it felt unreal to score the winning goal against SLU. 

“Obviously this is a great team we played against today,” he said. “Everyone on the team did their role, they played the best they could, and I have nothing to say but just that we’re so proud. Proud of this group and proud of everything. We put in a lot of work and to see the result on the field it’s truly a blessing.”

SLU got one of their best opportunities to score in the first half in the 37th minute when first-year midfielder Carlos Leatherman reached the goal box but was stopped in his tracks by Loyola first-year goalkeeper Aidan Crawford. 

The Billikens continued to push in the half’s final minutes. A cross from Billikens fourth-year midfielder Kevin Komodi in the 39th minute was cleared by first-year Rambler defender Ryan Van De Winkle. Then, in the 40th minute, a dangerous SLU corner kick was eventually cleared out by Cisneros. 

Loyola held the Billikens scoreless heading into the halftime break. Graduate midfielder Marc Torellas wasted no time putting the pressure on in the second half, getting a shot off in the first few seconds, which was too strong and sailed just over the net. 

It was SLU’s turn to score when in the 50th minute third-year midfielder Christian Buendia cut the lead in half with his fourth goal of the season. He was assisted by first-year midfielder Tanner Anderson. 

The defenses stepped up and held both team’s front lines at bay for a few minutes following the Buendia goal. Cisneros broke through with a shot in the 57th minute which was too strong. 

SLU threatened to tie the match in the 63rd minute on a corner kick set piece that looked promising but was cleared out by the Ramblers. 

Then after a series of unproductive possessions by both sides, SLU squandered a potential opportunity in the 73rd minute on a run by Beundia and Anderson that slipped just left of the goalpost. 

Loyola’s defense bent down the stretch but didn’t break. In the 78th minute, the Billikens managed a series of headers near the goal on a corner kick set piece before Crawford eventually nabbed the ball out of the air, quelling the attack.  

In the 86th minute a SLU free kick from just under 30 yards out was on target but straight to Crawford. Just under a minute later, Crawford came up and intercepted a Billiken pass in the box, continuing to hold the desperate onslaught at bay.

In the final minute, SLU pulled Hart out of goal to aid the team in trying to tie the game in the waning seconds. Cisneros deflected a pass attempting to reach the box and it bounced to second-year midfielder Ben Bischof before being passed back to Cisneros, who was now breaking downfield. 

Cisneros blew past Hart and the Billiken back line. Staring at an open net, he ran the length of the field and tapped it into the goal with just 10 seconds left — putting the dagger in SLU with his second goal of the season. Bischof was credited with an assist on the play which extended Loyola’s lead to 3-1. 

The Ramblers bench cleared and the entire team joined Cisneros to celebrate their victory in the corner of the pitch. 

Bode said it meant a lot for the older members of the team who experienced the heartbreaking defeat against SLU in 2022 to get the win. He said the victory was a huge confidence boost for the team.

“We can beat anyone,” Bode said. “We can beat anyone if we play like this and the mentality like this and the belief we can beat anyone. I think that’s something our team felt, but now we know. We really believe when we’re at our best we can overcome a lot of obstacles and find a way to get results.”

Next, the Ramblers will travel to take on the University of Rhode Island Saturday, Oct. 21. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. 

Featured image by Holden Green | The Phoenix