BALTIMORE –
Kelly Hutton scored her first collegiate goal in the 58th minute, and
Paige Sim made multiple highlight-reel saves in the closing stages of the second half to lift Loyola University Maryland to a 1-0 victory over Marist in the season opener for both teams on Thursday.
Grace DenBleyker and
Sarah Mirr assisted on Hutton's strike for the Greyhounds, while Sim made diving stops in both the 82nd and 89th minutes to secure her ninth clean sheet in 19 collegiate starts. She made six saves overall, including five after the intermission.
Marist had the top two scoring chances in the first half, as Amanda Caldarelli fired two shots off the crossbar 24 seconds apart from each other in the 27th minute. Loyola, though, nearly jumped in front right before the break, as DenBleyker angled a shot just left of the post with 61 seconds remaining before halftime.
Hutton sent a penalty kick high 7:25 into the second half, but she more than made up for that miss just five minutes later. Mirr found DenBleyker on the right side of the field, and her cross was headed in by Hutton into the lower left-hand corner to put the Greyhounds ahead.
Mirr recorded her second collegiate assist on the play, while DenBleyker picked up a point in her Loyola debut.
After back-to-back saves by Marist's Natalie Kelchner on
Baylee DeSmit and DenBleyker in the 68th minute kept Loyola's advantage at a single goal, the Red Foxes had the game's final nine shots while pushing for an equalizer.
Sim was up to the task. She made a pair of saves in the 82nd minute, including a dive to her right on a header by Brooke Cergol, and she made another diving stop on Kaylin Sperley with 1:24 left on the clock.
Marist's final shot attempt, by Bridget Dudziec with 60 seconds remaining, was also stopped by Sim to secure the victory. Sim is now 10-4-6 in her collegiate career, and she has held opponents to one goal or fewer in all 21 appearances.
The Greyhounds improved to 14-6-4 lifetime against their former MAAC rivals, and they avenged a 2-1 defeat to Marist during the 2019 regular season.
Loyola is back in action on Sunday night, traveling to No. 7 Clemson for a matchup beginning at 7 p.m.
