Men’s Soccer Runs Rampant in Final Game of 2024 Season

Loyola men’s soccer team tore through their final match of the regular season Nov. 2, putting four goals past Saint Joseph’s University at Hoyne Field. Third-year midfielder Ben Bischof’s first-half brace put the Ramblers ahead, and second-half goals from third-year forward Hugo Uridales and redshirt third-year Matthew Andrusko sealed the deal.

Prior to the opening kickoff, Loyola honored seven fourth-years for senior day in front of a large Hoyne crowd. All seven fourth-years either started or were subbed midway in and served as a focal point of head coach Steve Bode’s pre-game speech.

“We talked about playing for them,” Bode said. “A lot of our energy and emotion of wanting to send them off was there.”

After the opening whistle blew, the Ramblers’ first of 25 shots on the night came three minutes in, when Bischof’s first attempt of the night went well over the top bar. 

The Hawks’ third-year midfielder Luke Johnson responded with a shot a minute later at the top right of the net, only to be saved by redshirt second-year goalkeeper Aidan Crawford.

In the 11th minute, Saint Joseph’s graduate forward Campell McIntyre was given a yellow card for a rough tackle to second-year defender Grant Bailey.

Second-year forward Petar Janjic missed two more attempts on net — the first going wide and the second being saved by the Hawks’ fourth-year goalkeeper Lars Haavie in a last-ditch effort.

In the 20th minute, the Ramblers finally broke through, as graduate defender and midfielder Julian Cisneros carried the ball along the goalline and crossed it into Bischof for a quick tap-in over the head of Haavie.

Bischof got his second only a minute after, when the Hawks kickoff gave in to heavy pressing from the Rambler forwards. Through a quick chain of two passes, the ball eventually made way to Bischof, who calmly sunk the ball into the back of the net for a 2-0 score.

In the 27th minute, a corner pass was lifted high enough for Cisneros to attempt a bicycle kick, only for his shot to fall wide right of the net. A yellow card was issued four minutes later to the Hawks’ fourth-year forward Blake Driehuis for dissent after a tackle.

Saint Joseph’s set the tempo in the remaining 15 minutes of the first half, recording seven shots to the Ramblers’ three. Of those seven shots, four went wide, and the other three were saved by Crawford. 

Redshirt third-year midfielder Quinten Blair was given a yellow card for a poor header collision in the 42nd minute, but the Ramblers remained on top at 2-0 with the conclusion of the first half.

Three minutes into the start of the second half, Uridales chipped a shot from just outside the box, where the ball sailed over the extended hands of Haavie and into the back right corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.

In the following 22 minutes, offenses continued to find limited success as nine shots between the teams were either off-target or saved. Seven fouls in the same stretch culminated in the 70th minute, when Janjic was assessed a yellow card for a poor tackle.

In the 74th minute, Driehuis was fouled in the box, giving the Hawks a penalty kick opportunity. Driehuis’ following penalty and a diving Crawford ended with the ball being recovered and the scoreboard remaining the same.

Despite temporarily being subbed out in the 80th minute for redshirt third-year Jameis Fite, Crawford’s seven-save performance later earned him the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week award.

After an extended Rambler possession ended in a foul by Cisneros, Haavie’s pass back into play was stolen by redshirt third-year Matthew Andrusko and slotted into the net for a 4-0 score, marking Andrusko’s first career goal in four years with the team.

Andrusko credited his team and family for the special occasion.

“The coaches just gave me that motivation and confidence to get out there and just put all the energy I can into the team,” Andrusko said. “It’s a golden opportunity for me to be able to show what I can do with my family here and all my teammates supporting me — it felt great.”

Saint Joseph’s eventually got one back when Driehuis capitalized off a rebound to make it 4-1 in the 83rd minute, but the distance remained too great.

With the exception of a yellow card to Loyola’s third-year defender TJ Cairney for a massive shoulder check, neither side was able to break through, and the match drew to a close.

In a match that yielded 37 total fouls, Bode praised the team for keeping a level head.

“A lot of physicality, a lot of fouls, all that kind of stuff,” Bode said. “I was proud of how our guys handled it and just kept playing through and secured the win.”

Due to LaSalle University’s late 2-1 victory over George Washington University an hour earlier, the Ramblers’ 2024 season comes to a close, as the team finished in the ninth seed with a conference record of 3-5-1 and one point behind LaSalle, unable to make conference playoffs.