Women’s Soccer Defeats DePaul in Red Line Rivalry

The Loyola women’s soccer team took down Red Line Rival DePaul University in a 1-0 win Aug. 25. Fans who attended the “Pack the Park” event set the attendance record at Hoyne Field with 1,178 people. 

Second-year goalkeeper Allison Deardorff recorded her second shutout of the season while second-year forward Zoe Hevey tabbed her first goal of the season. 

The match started quickly as Hevey’s opening shot was saved by Blue Demon graduate goalkeeper Elena Milam. Hevey took another shot but second-year DePaul defender Kristen Schwartz deflected the pass into Blue Demon offensive territory. 

A lofted pass from Hevey was met by fourth-year midfielder Taylor Harrison’s head and went wide of the net in the ninth minute. 

Two missed shots from graduate midfielder Olivia Rhodes occurred in the ninth and 14th minute before the first substitutions were made. 

Graduate defender Alaina Abel headed fourth-year midfielder Jaimee Cibulka’s corner kick but it was caught by Milam. In the final minute of the half, Cibulka got off another shot which went out of bounds towards the left of the net. 

The Ramblers defense worked tirelessly throughout the quiet first half, holding the Blue Demons to zero shots, while their offense maintained 65% possession and five shots. 

Harrison got the ball rolling in the second half with a shot that was wide right. In the 48th minute, second-year midfielder Ansley Cryan set Hevey up for a shot, but she sent it wide and out of bounds. 

DePaul’s fourth-year midfielder Grace Menser broke away from the pack, looking for a goal opportunity but was stopped by a diving save from Deardorff. With 29 minutes remaining, Hevey tricked the Blue Demon defense but her attempt flew out of bounds.

A pass from Cibulka to second-year midfielder Maggie Schmidt almost made it into the net but Milam grabbed a hold of Schmidt’s attempt for a possession change. 

Back-to-back DePaul corner kicks were unsuccessful as Deardorff caught the first attempt and Schmidt kicked the ball out of the zone on the second. 

In the 74th minute, Rhodes was given a yellow card after a DePaul player struggled to get back up following a defensive attack. First-year midfielder Olivia Anderson provided quality defense to not allow a shot from the Blue Demons. 

A couple seconds later, Hevey stole control of the ball and sunk it into the back of the net for the first and only goal of the match. 

Hevey said after the match she has been working to find more ways to score goals, especially since she was moved to the forward position. 

“I’m just changing my ways of what I’m used to and just like being more creative,” Hevey said. “I think that’s leading me to these open opportunities and scoring.” 

Three unsuccessful Rambler corner kicks within three minutes followed the goal, either being caught by Milam or going out of bounds. In the 86th minute, second-year DePaul forward Mya Gardner was given a yellow card after an altercation with a Loyola player and the referee. 

As the clock wound down, Loyola walked away with the latest win in the ongoing Red Line Rivalry, defeating the Blue Demons 1-0 and taking the lead in all time matchups 9-8-1. 

Head coach Angela Staveskie said the rivalry influenced the team mentality and helped take home the win for the Ramblers. 

“There was excitement tonight, there were nerves tonight, but when you have these nerves and the excitement from the outside, I think our group just rallied together,” Staveskie said. “When you can do that, you just can do a lot of powerful and amazing things. I’m really proud of this group tonight.” 

The Ramblers head on the road for their next match against the University of Wisconsin Thursday, Aug. 29. Kick-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the game can be streamed on the Big Ten+ network.