Loyola Women’s Soccer Steals the Match in the Steel City

The Loyola women’s soccer team travelled to Pittsburgh to defeat Duquesne University in an offensive 2-1 win Oct. 16. The Ramblers broke the Dukes’ undefeated home streak in Loyola’s first Atlantic 10 (A10) win on the road this season and their first-ever win against Duquesne. This was Loyola’s fourth game against Duquesne since 2022. 

The game started fast with a shot in the first minute by second-year midfielder Lydia Case headed to the bottom centre of the net, which was saved by Duquesne’s third-year goalkeeper Ali Hughes. 

The Dukes retaliated with a shot on the Ramblers, which redshirt second-year goalkeeper Allison Deardorff saved. Hughes then made another save on a shot by third-year forward and midfielder Zoe Hevey in the fifth minute.  

The Dukes got the lead quickly with the first goal of the game off a penalty kick by Duquesne’s fourth-year midfielder Mackenzie Muir. 

Deardorff made two consecutive saves after shots by third-year Dukes forward Kaitlyn Killinger and Muir in the 15th and 17th minutes. Hevey fought back with another shot on goal, saved by Hughes. 

The teams then traded nine shots against one another for the next 15 minutes, with three of them being shots on goal and two of the shots being from Dukes’ third-year midfielder Kayla Leseck and one from Hevey. 

In those 15 minutes, third-year forward Jadyn Harris was fouled twice within seven minutes.

The Ramblers came back in the 37th minute when Harris buried the ball in the bottom left of the goal with a pinpoint assist from fourth-year forward Meghan Economos. This was Economos’ first assist of her career and Harris’ second goal of the year. 

Three minutes later, graduate midfielder and forward Mia Lanni received a yellow card. 

The first half ended with attempted shots by Hevey and Duquesne’s third-year midfielder Jayden Sharpless, but both went past the goal. 

The second half kicked off with another shot by Hevey on target, which was saved by Hughes. Duquesne had three consecutive shots on goal within three minutes of each other, all saved by Deardorff. 

In the 60th minute, Duquesne was called offside, and Loyola didn’t capitalize on the moment. The Ramblers were then awarded a corner kick in the 65th minute. 

The Ramblers came back with another goal in the 67th minute by redshirt second-year forward Emily Rossi. This was her first goal of the season. 

Eight minutes later, the Dukes were awarded a corner kick, but nothing came from it. Duquesne’s fourth-year forward Maya Matesa received a yellow card two minutes later. 

The Dukes received another corner kick in the 85th minute and got a shot on target from Killinger, which Deardorff saved. 

The Dukes then tried to fight back with two consecutive corner kicks two minutes later, each resulting in nothing. The game ended with the Ramblers on the up scale with a 2-1 win. 

The game set many records for the Ramblers. Hevey set a career high with nine shots and four on target. Deardorff set a season high as well, saving 10 shots. 

Head coach Jon Sandoval noted the team’s grit and resilience during the game and the week. 

“It’s been a tough week, some tough questions were asked and the team answered them tonight,” Sandoval said. “However, we’ve been here before, we can’t let this moment get too high. We have to understand how hard A10 play is, we have to be mature competitors and be willing to give everything every time.”

The Ramblers return home to take on Virginia Commonwealth University to celebrate Alumni Day Oct. 23 with a 7 p.m. kickoff. Streaming will be available on ESPN+.