Loyola beat previously undefeated league leader SIUE in the final game of the regualar season to finish 5th in the MVC. A beautiful goal by senior Brian Bement in the 33rd minute put the Ramblers on top, and the defense held on for the rest of the match. A would-be tying goal by SIUE in the 90th minute was called back as offsides.

The conference tournament begins Wednesday in Peoria (where the high temp is expected to be 36), when the 5th seeded Ramblers face 4th seed Drake. On Oct. 11, the Bulldogs beat Loyola 2-1 in double overtime in Des Moines-- so these two squads are very evenly matched.

Loyola finished the regular season 2-2-2 in conference and 7-5-5 overall, including wins against SIUE, Bradley, Dayton, UIC, and #20 Northwestern; the Ramblers earned some impressive draws against Missouri State, DePaul (on the road), and Wisconsin (on the road). Last year, Bradley-- the hosts, seeded #3-- ended up winning the title. Despite the #5 seeding, the Ramblers have a realistic chance of making a run in the tournament at a neutral site, based on impressive home results against Missouri State and SIUE, and very close overtime losses at Evansville and Drake.

Here are the seedings for the tournament:

1 Missouri State
2 SIUE
3 Evansville
4 Drake
5 Loyola
6 Bradley

Thanks for the report.

The low is forecasted at 24. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm assuming no ties are allowed-so what happens if it's tied after regulation?

I think we have a fighting chance; just need a lucky bounce or two.

It goes to a penalty shootout if it's tied after two overtimes. Last year the women's team lost in the first round after a penalty shootout vs. Drake.

Men's soccer reaches semifinals with a 3-1 win over Drake. They'll play #1 seed Missouri State on Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Peoria.

Loyola trailed 1-0 after only three minutes, but scored two goals in the first half and one in the second (a Drake own goal) to notch the victory. Tim Dobrowolski was great in goal with seven saves, and Collier (soft header) and Cappuccitti provided goals for the Ramblers.

I know how hard it is to score with a "soft header".

I watched most of Wednesday's game on ESPN 3. Hopefully I can do the same today for good luck. I hadn't seen them play yet this year and was pretty impressed with a few of the young offensive players. Go Ramblers!

_________________
MBB Scholarship Chart

I wasn't online much yesterday, but the MVC released their postseason men's soccer awards, and Loyola figured prominently-- especially for a team that finished 5th in the standings:

Goalkeeper of the Year: Tim Dobrowolski
Freshman of the Year: Kyle Thomson
Coaching Staff of the Year: Loyola (Neil Jones, Nate Boyden, Brian Plotkin, Jeremy Proud)
First Team Selections: Tim Dobrowolski, Eric Schoendorf
Second Team Selection: Elliot Collier
Honorable Mention Selections: Brian Bement, Brian Lunar
Freshman Team Selections: Elliot Collier, Brody Kraussel, Kyle Thomson

The team did indeed look great on Wednesday against Drake. Let's hope they can carry that over against Missouri State, who only allowed 10 goals all season. Gametime temp should be about 26 degrees!