The Matchup
- Loyola women's soccer begins its quest for the program's first Patriot League Regular Season Championship on Thursday when it hosts Drexel.
- The Greyhounds will begin the season with a matchup against the Dragons, which will be the first matchup between the two programs.
Last Time Out
- The last time the Greyhounds were on the field was in the Patriot League Quarterfinals. Sarah Mirr scored the lone goal for the Greyhounds with just 3:81 remaining in regulation to tie the game at 1-1 against Army. Ada Clare Tempert provided the assist on the goal.
- The Greyhounds would fall short in overtime however, as Army scored the clinching goal just 1:11 into extra time to move onto the next round.
Key Returners and Newcomers
- The Greyhounds return a strong core from last year's team, as there will be nine members of the team who tallied at least 10 starts last season. The group is led by Preseason Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year Paige Sim, who started all 18 games last season. The Greyhounds also return Sarah Mirr, Chloe Kuminkoski, Alex Searing, and Gillian Borton who all also started all 18 games last season.
- Three of the top four scorers from last years team also return in Baylee DeSmit (4 goals, 1 assist), Sarah Mirr (3 goals, 3 assists), and Ada Clare Tempert (3 goals, 1 assist).
- Other notable returners for the Greyhounds are seniors MK Barnes, Lea Kristjansdottir, and junior Kelly Hutton.
- On top of the deep returners for the Greyhounds, they also brought in a talented freshman class with 5 freshman to bolster their roster and sophomore transfer Michaela Virgin, who comes to Loyola after a year at NC State.
Defense Wins
- The Greyhounds owned the top defensive team in the Patriot League in 2021 as they allowed just 1.01 goals per game.
- Paige Sim anchored the Greyhounds' defense as she led the conference with a .809 save percentage on the season and also tallied 4.22 saves per game last season. Sim also tallied seven shutouts on the season.
- The Greyhounds will look to continue their strong defense as they return much of their unit from the 2021 season.
Scouting Drexel
- The Dragons finished the 2021 season with a 6-8-3 (2-5-2) record and missed out on the Colonial Athletic Association tournament.
- Delaney Lappin, who led the Dragons in scoring during the 2021 season, will look to lead the Dragons this season. Lappin was named to the 2022 CAA Preseason All-Conference Team.
- Drexel senior midfielder Annalena O'Reilly was also recognized on the preseason team for the Dragons as she was named to the Preseason All-Conference Honorable Mention. O'Reilly tallied 3 goals during the 2021 season for the Dragons.
- Drexel will feature a team with some experience as they have three returners that started at least 16 games during the 2021 season.
- The Dragons were picked to finish in eighth place in the CAA for the 2022 season.
Quick Notes Entering the Season Opener
- The Greyhounds have won three straight season openers, dating back to the 2019 season, and have won four straight home openers dating back to the 2018 season.
- Loyola's eight victories last season 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.
- Loyola has gone 17-11-3 (.548) at home since the beginning of the 2018 season.
- The Greyhounds tallied 7 shutouts during the 2021 season, including in their 1-0 season opener win, against Marist.
- 15 returning players appeared in at least 10 games during the 2021 season, including seven of them that tallied over 1,000 game minutes (Paige Sim, Alex Searing, Chloe Kuminkoski, Sarah Mirr, MK Barnes, Gillian Borton, and Baylee DeSmit)
- Five Loyola players combined for eight weekly Patriot League awards last season. Sim was a four-time Goalkeeper of the Week, while Baylee DeSmit (Midfielder of the Week), Kaleigh Gallagher (Offensive POW), Elizabeth Gallagher (Rookie of the Week) and MK Barnes (Defensive POW) were also recognized individually.
- Paige Sim was named the 2021 Goalkeeper of the Year and earned 1st Team All-Conference nods, as Baylee DeSmit was named 2nd Team All-Conference, and Alex Searning named 3rd Team All-Conference following the 2021 season.
Recipes for Success
- The Greyhounds have won each of the last 12 games in which they have scored two goals or more, a streak which dates back to Sept. 6, 2018. Loyola was 4-0-0 in 2021 when scoring multiple goals this season.
- The Greyhounds were 8-0-2 when scoring first and 6-0-1 when leading at halftime during the 2021 season.
More on Sim
- Paige Sim played 1,690 out of a possible 1,701 minutes this season, and she tallied 5+ saves in nine of her 18 appearances. She led the Patriot League in goals-against average (0.96), save percentage (.809) and shutouts (7) this fall.
- Sim was a first team All-Patriot League honoree during the 2021 season, was a thrid team All-Conference slection during the 2021 spring season and she was a second team selection following her freshman season in 2019.
- For her career, Sim is 17-10-10 with a 0.73 GAA, a .835 save percentage and 15 shutouts in 37 starts.
- Sim's current ranks all-time at Loyola; in 5th in saves, 2nd in save percentage, 3rd in goals against average, 5th in wins, tied for 1st in ties, tied for 3rd in shutouts, tied for 5th in goalie games played and goalie games started, and 4th in goalie minutes played.
Worth Noting
- Paige SIm became the program's second three-time All-Patriot League honoree after earning first team accolades last fall.
- Nine of 11 primary starters from the 2021 season are back for the Greyhounds this season, including two former All-Patriot League players in Paige Sim (2019 - 2nd Team, Spring 2021 - 3rd Team, 2021 1st Team) and Ada Clare Tempert (Spring 2021 - 1st Team).
- Gillian Borton and Paige Sim were named captains for the upcoming 2022 season.
- This is the second season Borton has been named captain, after she was named captain during the 2021 season. Borton, a graduate student, has appeared in 56 games during her Loyola career, starting in 40 of them, including starting every game over the last two seasons. She has tallied 3 assists in her career and has played over 3,000 minutes for the Greyhounds.
- Loyola has two of the last four Maryland Gatorade Girls Soccer Player of the Year honorees on its roster, with Tempert recognized in 2019 and freshman Baylee DeSmit chosen in 2020.
- Sophomore Olivia Quaranta is the daughter of Santino Quaranta, who made 15 appearances for the U.S. National Team and spent 11 years in the MLS (primarily with DC United). In addition to her stint at Pipeline SC in the ECNL, Quaranta was a two-year member of the Washington Spirit's Advanced Development program.
