This past Saturday, the Loyola women’s soccer team faced off against Patriot League foe Lafayette at the Ridley Athletic Complex. The match –up was fairly even throughout, with neither of the teams clearly dominating the game, but the Hounds came out on top in overtime with a score of 2-1.
While neither team dominated the first half, Loyola did take more offensive chances, attempting seven shots while Lafayette only had two. The majority of the first half consisted of back and forth possession around the midfield.
Both teams remained scoreless for the entirety of the first half, until Loyola senior and standout captain, Charlotte Miller, broke the silence and scored a line drive into the goal off of a rebound shot by teammate Jess Soldiviero with 31 minutes left in the second half.
In the 70th minute, Lafayette’s Kaelin King responded with Lafayette’s only goal, which was assisted by teammate Katie Brannigan. After Lafayette tied it up, Loyola gained consistent possession but just could not put the game away. Knowing that the game would go into overtime with less than three minutes left in regulation, Lafayette gained possession and attempted to settle in the backfield, however the Greyhound’s good defense led to a turnover and Loyola attempted one more fast break before time ran out.
The last few minutes of regulation were extremely rough and gritty. Both teams were physically drained and hungry for victory. Each team hoped to finish the game without having to go into overtime. Lafayette almost ended it on a corner kick, but the cross was incomplete, the ball sliding just past the goal post and out of bounds.
Loyola took control in overtime with the ball barely touching their defensive end. However they were not able to finish what they started until Rosy Hayes stepped up and scored an unassisted goal in the 97th minute of overtime to seal the victory for the Hounds.
Loyola travels to Annapolis to play Navy on September 26 at 5:30 PM and will return home to Ridley to play American on September 30 at 7:00 PM.
