Illinois State (10-9-2, 4-3-0) fell 2-1 to Loyola (10-6-1, 6-1-0) in a hard-fought semifinal match in the Missouri Valley Conference Soccer Championships Friday night. Junior Mikayla Unger scored the lone goal for the Redbirds at Loyola Soccer Park, in the match that saw them eliminated from postseason play. Junior Haley Smith had six saves in between the pipes for Illinois State.
Loyola struck first in the fourth minute, when Lindsey Hardiman sent in a ball to Madison Kimball, who then directed it into the goal from just outside the six yard-box. It was Kimball's ninth goal of the season. Then, in the 31st minute, MVC Player of the Year Jenna Szczesny got her head on a cross by Taylor Lambouris to knock in the tenth goal of her senior campaign. The Ramblers were up 2-0 at the end of the first period, outshooting the 'Birds 7-4 and 5-0 in shots on goal.
"I think we respected them a little bit too much in the first half," said head coach Brad Silvey. "Conceding the two goals in the first half was tough. We put a tough hurdle that we needed to get over in the second half. However, credit to our kids, they did a tremendous job trying to tackle a pretty heavy task in the second half."
Unger would have her moment just a few minutes after halftime, as senior Kiley Czerwinski served up a cross from the wing that landed at the feet of Natalie Vaughn-Low inside the box. Vaughn-Low then redirected it to Unger who slipped it past the keeper for her fourth goal of the season and 13th of her career.
The Ramblers would hold off Illinois State's second half rally to secure the win and advance to the championship on Sunday. Vaughn-Low and Unger each had a team-high three shots and Unger led the team, placing two shots on goal. Smith held strong in goal, gathering six saves on the night and making three of them in last 20 minutes to keep the Ramblers at bay. Abby Basler, Tate Barney, Kate Del Fava, Megan McEachern, Alissa Ramsden, Ashley Santos along with Smith all played a full 90 minutes.
"Our response was admirable, it was fun to watch, and it turned into a pretty exciting semifinal," said Silvey. "At the end of it all, I'm very proud of our team. I'm proud of their effort, their drive, their commitment, and their passion to compete to the bitter end."
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