On the day when her mother’s No. 20 jersey was retired, Senior Shannon Aikens went out and scored four goals and two assists as Loyola cruised past Army 18-7. Entering the game, Loyola led the league in ground balls and turnovers, while the inaugural Lacrosse Team from Army was last in the league. The script was set for a convincing Loyola win, and the Hounds did just that.
Loyola started the game on a 7-0 scoring run, and Army’s first goal came with 13 minutes left in the first half. Loyola’s fourth goal, scored with around 18:49 left in the first half, was a product of a dominant Loyola offense and a very young West Point squad.
Freshman Izzy McMahon for Army led the way with 4 goals herself. Loyola showed real dominance in the first half. Army could not establish a defense that could slow down the Greyhounds, let alone stop them.
Loyola senior goalie Molly Wolf had two good saves off of free-position shots for Army. She stuffed both shots and really put a dent into Army’s hopes of winning. The only good luck Army had was for a period of around five minutes at the end of the half, when Loyola’s offense could not find its rhythm.
Loyola led 10-3 at half.
In the second half, the Greyhounds went on a long scoring run to put the game completely out of reach. Loyola scored six times before Army struck. During Loyola’s scoring run, their offensive capabilities were on full display. Their transition game post-play and face-off abilities all contributed to Loyola’s impressive 6-0 run.
After Loyola’s 16th goal Army pulled its goalie, and Loyola’s back-ups started to enter the game. Army’s best goal was their fourth: a quick cut into the middle yielded a nice pass and finish from up close. Army’s McMahon was their offense in this game. She scored her hat trick with around seven minutes left to play.
Loyola for the last seven minutes or so milked every offensive possession and really made it hard for Army to do anything productive.
Loyola’s regular season concluded at the end of the game. They are the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League, will receive a bye into the semi-finals, and will host the tournament at the Ridley Athletic Complex. Their semi-final game will be on Friday May 6.
