The Matchup
- The Greyhounds will continue their non-conference schedule as they will host the Columbia Lions on Thursday evening.
- This will be the first-ever matchup between the two programs, as the matchup will continue a 5-game home stretch for the Greyhounds.
Last Time Out
- The Greyhounds hosted the Youngstown State Penguins on Sunday afternoon.
- Loyola's offense got the scoring going early as Kelly Hutton scored in just the 3rd minute off of an assist from Baylee DeSmit and Jess Korman.
- From there, Sarah Mirr added to the scoring with a deep strike off of an assist from Olivia Quaranta as the Greyhounds led 2-0 at halftime.
- In the second half, the scored twice within four minutes as Alex Searing scored her first career goal off of an cross into the box from MK Barnes.
- Kelly Hutton followed it up quickly in the 60th minute as she scored her second goal of the game off of an assist from Payton Hurley on a corner kick.
- Paige Sim also had another big game as she had 8 saves in the game, including a save on a penalty kick.
Key Returners and Newcomers
- The Greyhounds will return a strong core from last years team, as there will be 9 members of the team that tallied at least 10 starts last season.
- This 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, as they brought in 5 freshman to bolster their roster, and also brought in sophomore transfer Michaela Virgin, who comes to Loyola after a year at NC State.
Defense wins
- The Greyhounds have won their previous two games by scores of 1-0, and 4-0.
- The Greyhounds defense has now gone 197 straight minutes without allowing a goal, dating back to the Virginia game.
Scouting Columbia
- The Lions had their season opener this past Sunday as they hosted St. John's, where they tied 2-2.
- Maia Tabion and Shira Cohen both scored for the Lions on Sunday, with Sophia Cavaliere and Ania Prussak adding assists.
- The Lions also did out-shoot St. Johns by a total of 17-15 in the game.
- In the Ivy League Preseason Poll, Columbia was picked to finish in fourth place in the league, behind Brown, Harvard, and Princeton.
- Key returners for the Lions include Nata Ramirex and Ally Clark who were First Team All-Conference selections a year ago.
- The Lions squad also features a big group of upper-classmen as they have five seniors and 14 juniors.
Quick Notes Entering the Weekend
- This is the first ever matchup between both programs.
- This will be just the third Ivy League team the Greyhounds will play. They have a historical record of 1-6 against Ivy League teams, both Princeton and Cornell, with the last matchup coming last year, in a 2-1 loss to Princeton.
- The Greyhounds will look to continue their shutout streak to three games, which has not been done since 2014.
- Three players earned Patriot League Player of the Week nods following this past week. Sarah Mirr earned Midfielder of the Week, Alex Searning was named Defensive Player of the Week, and Paige Sim was named Goalkeeper of the Week.
- 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.
- 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)
- Paige Sim was named the 2021 Goalkeeper of the Year and earned 1st Team All-Conference nods, and has followed that up as being named the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, as well as being named to the Preseason All-Patriot League team.
Recipes for Success
- The Greyhounds have won each of the last 13 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 during the season.
- The Greyhounds are 10-0-2 when scoring first and 8-0-1 when leading at halftime since the beginning of the 2021 season.
What's Next
-`The Greyhounds will be back home on Sunday as they will host Kent State at 5:00 PM.
-`Following Columbia, the Greyhounds will host Kent State, Howard, and Wake Forest before they begin Patriot League play on the road against Colgate.
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 third team All-Conference selection 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.
- Sims current ranks all-time at Loyola; in 3rd in saves (171, 125 from 2nd), 1st in save percentage (.818), 3rd in goals against average (0.87, .23 from 2nd), 4th in wins (19, 1 away from 3rd), 3rd in shutouts(16, 2 away from 2nd), 4th in goalie games played (42, 7 away from 3rd) and goalie games started (40, 3 from 3rd), and 4th in goalie minutes played (3,931:39 minutes, 161 from 3rd).
