Women’s Soccer Draws Against Iowa

The Loyola Women’s soccer team went up against No. 10 University of Iowa at Hoyne Field Aug. 28 and came to a 0-0 tie. Redshirt second-year goalkeeper Allison Deardorff led the Ramblers with six saves while third-year forward and midfielder Zoe Hevey led the offense with four shots, two of which were on target. 

The match started with a foul on fourth-year forward Molly Pistorius, followed by a shot from Hevey, which was saved by Hawkeyes’ second-year goalkeeper Fernanda Mayrink. 

Iowa was awarded a corner kick in the seventh minute which sailed to the opposite end of the field. Consecutive offside calls against the Hawkeyes gave Loyola a chance to score, but the ball was stolen off second-year midfielder Olivia Anderson by an Iowa defender. In the ninth minute, there was another corner for the Hawkeyes, but it was headed out by a Loyola defender. 

A foul on Anderson allowed a shot by Hawkeye’s first-year midfielder Josie Jones which veered to the left of the goal. In the 16th minute, fouls were traded by second-year defender Catherine Cline and Iowa graduate forward and midfielder Kenzie Roling. 

Cline and second-year midfielder Lydia Case were called on back-to-back fouls, followed by a yellow card on Case in the 25th minute for pulling an Iowa player down by her jersey. 

Anderson’s shot, which followed a foul on Iowa graduate defender Miah Schueller, went to the right of the goal. Iowa’s graduate forward and midfielder Kelli McGroarty took a shot sailing over the crossbar. Another offside call against Iowa in the 34th minute allowed a shot by Pistorius which was snagged by Mayrink. 

A minute later, a yellow card was given to the Ramblers’ fourth-year defender Emily Roberts for a slide tackle. Iowa received a corner kick which was headed to the ground by a Loyola defender, and a subsequent shot by Iowa fourth-year forward Shae Doherty landed on top of the net. 

The half ended with five consecutive shots by Iowa players — one by third-year midfielder Sofia Bush and a pair each from graduate forward Olivia Lebdaoui and McGroarty. Two of the shots were saved by Deardorff and the other three went wide of the net. 

Head coach Jon Sandoval said the team needed to adjust their plays against a team as offensively aggressive as Iowa. 

“I think the thing that we had to do better in the second half was we had to stop fouling and giving a team that is super athletic and fast too many set piece opportunities,” Sandoval said. “And then we also need to be better within our challenges and our dual rate.”

Iowa started the second half fast with a shot by first-year midfielder Elle Wildman which went wide right. An Iowa corner in the 51st minute was stolen by third-year forward Jadyn Harris but quickly made it back into Iowa’s possession.

A shot at the bottom center of the net by Wildman was dived on by Deardorff. The Ramblers’ corner in the 57th minute was headed out of the scoring zone by Jones and led to an eventual foul on Harris. 

After stealing the ball from the free kick, Case raced downfield, only for her shot to hit off the crossbar and land out-of-bounds. Fouls called on Anderson and redshirt second-year forward Emily Rossi allowed Iowa a chance to get downfield, but an offside call gave the ball back to Loyola. 

In the 67th minute, Schmidt was presented a yellow card for unsporting. Iowa graduate defender Price Loposer grabbed a corner kick in the 72nd minute and shot, headed by Cline into the ground in front of Lebdaoui. Her shot went wide of the net. 

Bush’s shot in the 75th minute was grabbed by Deardorff — as was Roling’s the next minute. A foul on Bush gave Loyola the ball, but it was stolen back by a Hawkeyes defender. Jones had a foul called on her, leading to a shot by Pistorius which bent left of the net. 

An offside call in the 84th minute against Iowa led to a Loyola possession and corner kick, which was stolen by Wildman. Another offside against Iowa gave the Ramblers one last chance at a goal. Hevey’s shot went toward the bottom center of the net, but it was saved by Mayrink, ending the match in a 0-0 draw. 

Sandoval said the match was a learning experience for the team, showing them what they need to do against top competition. 

“I think the two biggest things that we have to do is we have to be a little bit more organized, and we have to be a little bit more attentive to the things that are happening in the moment,” Sandoval said. 

The Ramblers travel next to Normal, Ill. for their next matchup against Illinois State Sep. 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.