The Loyola men’s soccer team swept its final regular-season game on Nov. 2, scoring four goals against Saint Joseph’s University at Hoyne Field. Junior midfielder Ben Bischof’s first-half brace put the Ramblers ahead, and second-half goals from junior forward Hugo Uridales and junior Matthew Andrusko sealed the deal.

Before kickoff, Loyola honored seven seniors for Senior Day in front of a large Hoyne crowd. All seven seniors started or were subbed out midway through and served as the focal point of head coach Steve Bode’s pregame speech.

“We talked about playing for them,” Bode said. “A lot of our energy and excitement of wanting to say goodbye to them was there.”

After the opening whistle blew, the first of the Ramblers’ 25 shots on the night came three minutes later, when Bischof’s first attempt of the night went well over the bar.

Hawks junior midfielder Luke Johnson responded with a shot a minute later into the top right of the net, only to be stopped by redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Aidan Crawford.

In the 11th minute, Saint Joseph graduate forward Campell McIntyre received a yellow card for a rough tackle on sophomore defender Grant Bailey.

Sophomore forward Petar Janjic missed two more attempts toward the net: the first went wide and the second was saved by Hawks fourth-year goalie Lars Haavie on a last-ditch attempt.

In the 20th minute, the Ramblers finally broke through, as graduate defender and midfielder Julian Cisneros carried the ball along the goal line and crossed it to Bischof for a quick tap-in over Haavie’s head.

Bischof got his second just a minute later, when the Hawks’ kickoff gave way to heavy pressure from the Rambler forwards. Through a quick chain of two passes, the ball finally gave way to Bischof, who calmly dunked the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0.

In the 27th minute, a corner pass was lifted high enough for Cisneros to attempt a bicycle kick, but his shot went wide of the right side of the net. Four minutes later a yellow card was issued to Hawks fourth-year forward Blake Driehuis for dissent after a tackle.

Saint Joseph’s set the pace in the remaining 15 minutes of the first half, recording seven shots to the Ramblers’ three. Of those seven shots, four went wide and the other three were stopped by Crawford.

Redshirt junior midfielder Quinten Blair received a yellow card for a bad header in the 42nd minute, but the Ramblers remained up 2-0 at the end of the first half.

Three minutes into the second half, Uridales shot from outside the box, where the ball sailed over Haavie’s outstretched hands and into the back right corner of the net for a 3-0 lead.

Over the next 22 minutes, the offenses continued to have limited success, as nine shots between the teams were deflected or saved. Seven fouls in the same period culminated in the 70th minute, when Janjic was given a yellow card for a bad tackle.

In the 74th minute, Driehuis was fouled in the box, giving the Hawks a penalty opportunity. Driehuis’ next penalty and a Crawford dive ended with the ball being recovered and the score remained the same.

Despite being temporarily replaced in the 80th minute by redshirt junior Jameis Fite, Crawford’s seven-save performance later earned him the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Week award.

After an extended Rambler possession ended in a foul by Cisneros, Haavie’s pass was stolen by redshirt junior Matthew Andrusko and put into the net for a 4-0 score, marking the team’s first goal. Andrusko in four years with the team.

Andrusko credited his team and family for the special occasion.

“The coaches just gave me that motivation and confidence to go out there and put as much energy as I can into the team,” Andrusko said. “It’s a golden opportunity for me to be able to show what I can do with my family here and all my teammates supporting me; it was great.”

Saint Joseph finally got the goal back when Driehuis grabbed a rebound to make it 4-1 in the 83rd minute, but the gap was still too great.

With the exception of a yellow card to Loyola third-year defender TJ Cairney for a hard hit to the shoulder, neither side was able to break through and the match came to an end.

In a game that yielded 37 total fouls, Bode praised the team for staying calm.

“A lot of physicality, a lot of fouls, all that kind of stuff,” Bode said. “I was proud of how our guys handled it and I kept playing and got the win.”

Due to LaSalle University’s latest 2-1 win over George Washington University an hour earlier, the Ramblers’ 2024 season comes to an end as the team finished in ninth place with a conference record of 3- 5-1 and one point behind LaSalle. , unable to reach the conference playoffs.