Women’s Soccer Defeats Eastern Michigan in Physical Match

The Loyola women’s soccer team defeated Eastern Michigan University 1-0 Sunday, Sept. 15 in their last non-conference matchup of the season. Fourth-year midfielder Taylor Harrison scored the lone goal of the match, her third goal of the season. 

The Eagles and the Ramblers stayed relatively even throughout the match, each recording seven shots on target, with Loyola netting 13 shots to Eastern Michigan’s 12. The Ramblers maintained possession of the ball 52% of the time.

Graduate midfielder Olivia Rhodes set the tone early, receiving a foul just 41 seconds in. This was the first of 15 fouls called on both teams during the whole match. 

Loyola interim head coach Angela Staveskie said the physicality of the game forced the players to reset. 

“It’s a moment of transition,” Staveskie said. “It’s a moment where we need to kind of forget about what happened and sort of move on to the next one.” 

Eastern Michigan’s second-year forward and midfielder Kate Robinson was awarded a free kick after the foul and sent the ball flying at the net, where graduate defender Alaina Abel was able to head it away. 

Loyola quickly gained possession after the miss. First-year forward Jocelyn Leigh delivered a clean pass to Harrison, who barely missed the net. Another attempt two minutes later was wide right.

In the fifth minute, Eastern Michigan’s second-year defender Rosalie Takacsy took a corner kick, which was caught by redshirt first-year goalkeeper Allison Deardorff. 

Fourth-year midfielder Jaimee Cibulka nearly split the defense open with some trickery with the ball, but her pass was stolen by fourth-year Eagles defender Sam Lenaghan. 

Loyola took back-to-back unsuccessful corner kicks before a yellow card was given to Eastern Michigan’s second-year defender Scarlett Thomas in the 12th minute. 

In the 18th minute, a pass from third-year defender Emily Roberts found Harrison who got off a shot, but it was deflected by an Eagle defender. Cibulka collected the rebound and shot it herself, but the ball flew well over the protective netting and landed in the Hoyne Field parking lot. 

After subs were brought in during the 26th minute, the Eagles missed two shots. Loyola’s counter resulted in second-year midfielder Ansley Cryan finding Harrison across the field, who sent the ball into the back of the net. 

With her third goal of the season, Staveskie said fans can see the continued effort from Harrison and a growth in her leadership. 

“I think she likes scoring at Hoyne,” Staveskie said. “She finds the right spots. She works hard, she commits. Her effort getting in behind and getting to that back post and getting just a gritty goal, it’s going to rub off on our players.” 

With nine minutes remaining in the half, Deardorff made a sliding save and caught a tough Eagle shot. Abel ended the half after a freekick which went left of the net. 

Eastern Michigan started the second half with two offsides calls, giving the Ramblers an offensive advantage. 

Third-year midfielder Faith Grisdale took control of the ball and took it all the way from midfield to the net. She shot the ball to the lower right corner, where Eastern Michigan’s second-year goalkeeper Ella Holland prevented the insurance goal from going in. 

The Eagles received another offsides call but quickly recovered as third-year Eagles forward Lily Spotak shot towards the net’s bottom center, before Deardorff picked up the ball. 

The match ended uneventfully after a foul was called on Abel and another unsuccessful Eastern Michigan corner kick. 

The Ramblers finished their non-conference slate and now turn their focus to Atlantic 10 competitors, according to Staveskie. 

“We learned a lot about ourselves in non-conference play,” Staveskie said. “So as coaches, and as players, I think we have a really good snapshot of what we can be, what we’re capable of.” 

The Ramblers open conference play Thursday, Sept. 19 facing off against the University of Dayton. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match can be streamed on ESPN+.