WASHINGTON – Sarah Bayer scored the game's only goal in the final minute of the opening half, and Paige Sim made four saves to secure her Patriot League-leading seventh shutout during a 1-0 victory for Loyola University Maryland at American to wrap up the regular season on Wednesday.

Jess Korman set up Bayer for the game-winner in the 45th minute, as the Greyhounds (8-5-4, 5-1-3 PL) guaranteed a top three seed in the upcoming Patriot League tournament while eliminating the Eagles (5-9-2, 2-5-2 PL) from playoff contention.

Loyola was the No. 3 seed entering the final day of regular season competition. The Greyhounds can rise to No. 2 and earn a bye into the semifinals with either a Lafayette win/tie at Navy or an Army win over Boston University tonight. They would be the No. 1 seed if both of those results take place.

Sim made her biggest save of the afternoon in the 18th minute, diving to her right to prevent a strong header by Cailynn Adelman from reaching the back of the net. That was the lone shot on goal for either side until Bayer's strike.

Korman sent a long ball from 20 yards outside of the box straight to Bayer, who chested the ball down and directed a right-footed volley into the left corner. Bayer now has three goals this season, and she has scored in each of Loyola's last three games against American. Korman, meanwhile, picked up her team-leading fourth assist of the season, all of which have come in Patriot League play.

Sim made three additional stops in the second half, with the last occurring with 14:48 remaining in regulation. She surrendered just three goals during an unbeaten 4-0-3 stretch to conclude the regular season, and she enters the playoffs with a 0.90 goals-against average and .824 save percentage.

Loyola's eight victories are the program's most since the 2012 team went 12-6-4 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. The Greyhounds' 18 points in Patriot League play were also their most since joining the conference in 2013.