Some things just come easy for Loyola. They may not look pretty, but they definitely come easy.
This could not have been more true for the Hounds during their Patriot League match-up against American on Tues., March 13. They defeated the Eagles 14-6 for their first conference victory, where they lead 8-2 at the half.
The statistics and end result can be misleading, though, as they contrasted Loyola’s actual performance on the field. The team solely relied on its solid defense rather than its sluggish offense.
“I think we played some tough defense early on, I just think our offense got quite sloppy today,” Loyola Coach Jen Adams said. “I would like to be shooting far better than we did. Not even necessarily the stat line reads that way, but I think the timing of the shots and point blank misses and goalkeeper saves that we were giving aren’t going to cut it as we continue to move forward.”
Sabrina Tabasso was key for Loyola’s midfield line, controlling seven draws and completing a hat trick by the end of the first half.
Frankie Kamely led the Hounds offensively, scoring a game-high five goals. Freshman Hannah Powers also contributed to the offensive unit, notching two goals and four assists.
An eight-point lead seems like a good day for the offense, but it was Loyola’s defensive unit that dominated the field Tuesday night. Senior defender Maddy Lesher individually forced 4 out of 13 turnovers by American’s offense.
“I thought Maddy Lesher on defense today was phenomenal in causing turnovers and just putting them under the kind of pressure that a leader of her stature does,” Adams said.
“We hustled defensively. We were really smart and disciplined. We held on, I think a couple times you could see Lesher, her eyes go big. She waited and held for the check and just made a really disciplined play.”
Although they leadi by three goals just seven minutes into the game, Loyola was off to a slow and undisciplined start, dropping numerous balls.
Around 26 minutes into the game, Maddy Blakeman contributed her first goal, fed by Powers off a fast break. Tabasso notched her second goal off a free-position, followed again by a Blakeman shot and Powers assist off a simple cut into the arc with the feed from behind.
Freshmen Tori McDonald and Lindsey Ehrhardt each scored their first career goals, McDonald at 13:30 off a feed from Blakeman and Ehrhardt with 9:51 left in the second half, ripping an unassisted shot..
“We got a lot of time early on for both Tori and Lindsey Ehrhardt, and to see them out in the field playing at that level and being able to run the entire game out was cool,” Adams said. “Definitely promising from that end. They worked defensively, which was great as well. They didn’t miss a beat.”
Kamely’s first goal of the game put Loyola at 6-0 at 11:40, assisted by Powers who was systematically waiting for Kamely’s perfect crease cut behind the goal. 30 seconds later, American midfielder Madison Hoon finally got the Eagles on the board, with the assist by Sarah Bootman.
At 10:10, Tabasso completed her hat trick off a loose ball pick-up directly in front of the cage. Jessica Wojciechowski scored off a free position with 2:42 left to finalize the first half score at 8-2.
Kamely opened up the second half for Loyola, scoring two goals in 40 seconds. The first was an unassisted crease roll from behind quickly followed by a feed from Hannah Savage at the top of the arc off a cut along the crease from behind the cage. Kamely scored her final goal at 23:04, originally a free-position shot taken by Taylor VanThof but sent to Kamely, who was hanging around the crease unmarked.
“We focus a lot on trying to just be constantly moving, getting through,” Powers said. “Tonight we focused on getting the ball behind and looking for the fast cuts off transition, and I think that’s where we found a lot of the early goals off the feeds from behind.”
Powers scored the Hounds’ final two goals, ripping an unassisted bottom left corner shot with 7:21 left in the game. With 37 seconds left in the match, Powers snatched a feed directly in front of the goalie from Tabasso at the top of the 12-meter fan, quickly turning around to nail her second goal.
American shot 50% in the second half, scoring four out of eight. Jennifer DeSimone scored two for the Eagles in the final eight minutes, with goal contributions from Wojciechowski and Shauna Norris as well. Scored with just two seconds left, Wojciechowski’s shot was the last of the game, finishing with a victorious Loyola at 14-6.
“We’re really going to need to tighten up. I think there’s a lot of loose screws in terms of just being sharper,” Adams said. “We’re going to have to be a lot smarter with the ball offensively, those shots that we take, they need to fall.
“Defensively, I feel pretty good that we’re going to be able to hold things at bay, but offensively, we need to start generating and clicking and firing and I don’t think we’ve done that yet.”
Tuesday night’s victory marks Loyola’s first conference win of the season. The Hounds look for more success in the Patriot League as they host Navy at home Saturday , March 19.
