Oct. 14, 2007

Final Stats

CHICAGO - A strong defensive effort and an early goal from Heather Lau proved to be a recipe for success as Loyola maintained its perfect Horizon League record with a 1-0 win over Butler this afternoon at Loyola Soccer Park. The Ramblers, who have won seven of their last eight matches, improve to 9-6 (4-0 Horizon) while the Bulldogs drop to 5-8-1 and even their conference mark at 3-3.

Loyola was in firm control of the tempo and flow of the game in the first half and they dented the scoreboard in the 13th minute. A nice pass played Cara Morawski in down the left flank and the freshman was able to cut back and loft in a cross and Lau rose above her mark to head the ball into the net for her first goal of the season. Despite owning the majority of possession in the period, the Ramblers were unable to add on to the lead.

The second half followed a different script, as Loyola spent much of the half defending. Despite that fact, the Ramblers were dangerous on the counter-attack and had several chances to extend the lead. The back line of Caitlin Brown, Casey Berrier, Julie Colhoff and Amanda Ward were solid all day and freshman keeper Colleen Dougherty was the anchor as Loyola kept its sixth clean sheet of the season. Butler's best chance came in the 86th minute, when Abbie Kaul was able to find the back of the net but the goal was disallowed for a climbing foul.

Loyola returns to action on Tuesday night (Oct. 16) when the Ramblers travel to Milwaukee for a Horizon League showdown with the Panthers. The Panthers, currently, sit atop the conference standings with 13 points from five matches while the Ramblers stand second with the maximum 12 points from four conference matches. Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.