Women’s Soccer Comes to a 0-0 Draw Against La Salle

The Loyola womens’ soccer team finished in a scoreless draw against La Salle University Sept. 29. The tie continued the Ramblers’ undefeated record at Hoyne for the season.

Interim head coach Angela Staveskie acknowledged La Salle, who finished second in the A10 tournament last season, was a contender but said every game was going to be tough.

A tumultuous start followed La Salle’s opening kickoff, with the Explorers committing two fouls just seconds in.

The first attempt at a goal came at the five minute mark, when first-year La Salle forward Kameron Rase took a shot from outside of the box, leading redshirt first-year goalkeeper Allison Deardorff to snag the ball. 

Seven minutes into the game, graduate midfielder Olivia Rhodes attempted the team’s first shot, which was blocked by multiple La Salle defenders. Another shot three minutes later by fourth-year midfielder Jaimee Cibulka was also blocked by La Salle defenders.

The Ramblers had their first corner kick in the 11th minute, but La Salle quickly shut down any further threat with fourth-year Explorer goalkeeper Michela Auguadro immediately catching the ball. 

Following the corner, La Salle moved the ball onto Loyola’s half of the pitch and worked their way towards the goal — but the Rambler defense was able to push back and clear. 

Halfway through the first half, third-year midfielder Faith Grisdale received a yellow card after kicking the ball away from a La Salle player after a foul was called against her. 

In the 25th minute, La Salle had an opportunity when fourth-year Explorer forward Haley Gschrey dribbled down the pitch with another teammate, entering the box facing two defenders. She opted to pass to her teammate close to the goal, but the pass was intercepted and cleared by graduate defender Alaina Abel. 

The 40th minute included a tussle in the box following a Loyola corner kick, and resulted in a shot on goal from fourth-year defender Ava Metaj, which was cleared at the goal line by an Explorer defender.

The first half included a plethora of long throw-ins from third-year defender Emily Roberts, and several attempted through balls down Loyola’s left side. Though Loyola came out firing with 10 total shots to La Salle’s eight, the Ramblers also recorded 11 fouls, six more than the Explorers.

Possession was virtually even, with the Explorers controlling the ball for 51% of the first half. 

The first major moment in the second half came when graduate midfielder Olivia Rhodes was issued a yellow card in the 54th minute following a hard foul on a La Salle player. 

At the 58 minute mark, the Ramblers maintained a period of consistent possession in the Explorers’ box, which included multiple crosses and deflected shots. The attack ended with Augadro catching the ball. 

The game ended in confusion after multiple throw-ins, with the referee stopping play three separate times due to players yelling conflicting ideas regarding possession. 

In the dying seconds, a long ball from La Salle was stopped by Abel and the match came to a quiet 0-0 end. 

In total, Loyola had six corner kicks compared to La Salle’s two and took a total of 25 shots compared to their opponent’s eight. 

After the match, Staveskie commented on the team’s outlook and reflected on the game.

“Whether we win, lose or draw it’s how we could get better each day”, Staveskie said. This portrays this team’s perseverance when looking forward. 

The Ramblers’ next matchups see them head east for Virginia, where they take on Virginia Commonwealth University Oct. 3 with a 5 p.m. kick off, and the University of Richmond Oct. 6 at 1 p.m.. Streaming details have yet to be announced.