Women’s Soccer Beats DePaul in Red Line Competition

The Loyola women’s soccer team defeated Red Line rival DePaul University in a 1-0 game on Aug. 25. Fans who attended the “Pack the Park” event set a record for Hoyne Field attendance, with 1,178.

Sophomore goalkeeper Allison Deardorff recorded her second clean sheet of the season, while sophomore forward Zoe Hevey scored her first goal of the season.

The game started quickly, as Hevey’s opening shot was saved by Blue Demon graduate goalie Elena Milam. Hevey had another shot, but DePaul sophomore defender Kristen Schwartz deflected the pass into Blue Demon offensive territory.

Hevey’s up-ball pass found the back of midfielder Taylor Harrison and the ball went wide of the goal in the ninth minute.

Midfielder Olivia Rhodes had two missed shots in the ninth and 14th minutes before the first changes were made.

Graduate defensewoman Alaina Abel headed in a corner kick from fourth-year midfielder Jaimee Cibulka, but Milam caught it. In the final minute of the half, Cibulka fired another shot that went over the end line toward the left side of the goal.

The Ramblers defence worked tirelessly throughout a quiet first half, preventing the Blue Demons from getting a single shot off while their attack maintained 65% possession and five shots.

Harrison got the ball rolling in the second half with a shot that was wide right. In the 48th minute, second-year midfielder Ansley Cryan set up Hevey for a shot but sent it wide and wide.

Fourth-year DePaul midfielder Grace Menser broke away from the group looking for a goal but was stopped by Deardorff’s diving defense. With 29 minutes left, Hevey outplayed the Blue Demon defense but her attempt went wide.

Cibulka’s pass to sophomore midfielder Maggie Schmidt nearly found the back of the net, but Milam intercepted the ball as she tried to take possession.

DePaul’s next two corner kicks were unsuccessful as Deardorff caught the first attempt and Schmidt kicked the ball out of the box on the second attempt.

Rhodes received a yellow card in the 74th minute when a DePaul player struggled to get back on his feet after a defensive tackle. Freshman midfielder Olivia Anderson provided a solid save to deny the Blue Demons a shot.

Seconds later, Hevey took control of the ball and slotted it into the net for the first and only goal of the match.

Hevey said after the match that she had been working on finding other ways to score goals, especially since being moved to the striker position.

“I’m just changing my habits and just like being more creative,” Hevey said. “I think that leads me to having those opportunities open up and scoring points.”

Three Rambler corner kicks were unsuccessful in the three minutes following the goal, either caught by Milam or going over the sideline. In the 86th minute, DePaul sophomore forward Mya Gardner was shown a yellow card after arguing with a Loyola player and the referee.

With the clock ticking down, Loyola picked up another victory in the ongoing Red Line rivalry, defeating the Blue Demons 1-0 to take the lead in their meetings so far with a record of 9-8-1.

Coach Angela Staveskie said the competition affected the team’s mentality and helped the Ramblers come away with the victory.

“There was excitement tonight, there was nervousness tonight, but when you have those nerves and that excitement from the outside, I think our group just came together,” Staveskie said. “When you can do that, you can just do a lot of powerful and amazing things. I’m really proud of this group tonight.”

The Ramblers will travel for their next game against the University of Wisconsin on Thursday, August 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and the game will be available on the Big Ten+ Network.