The Matchup
- The Greyhounds will continue Patriot League play on Saturday afternoon as they will travel to face the Lafayette Leopards.
- This will be the 12th meeting between the two programs, with Loyola holding an 6-2-3 edge. The Greyhounds have won the last three meetings.
Last Time Out
- The Greyhounds hosted the Army Black Knights on Saturday afternoon.
- Both teams had their share of chances in the first half, as the Greyhounds out-shot Army 5-4, but were scoreless at halftime.
- The Greyhounds got on the board in the 67th minute, as
Kelly Hutton scored off of a cross into the box off of a free kick from
MK Barnes to take a 1-0 lead.
- The Greyhounds had a few more chances in the second half, but could not score that insurance goal. The Black Knights managed to tie the game in the 87th minute off of a deep shot that found the top corner.
- The Greyhounds could not find a late game-winner as they drew 1-1 to move to 5-3-3 on the season.
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.
Where They Stand In The Patriot League
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Paige Sim currently leads the conference in saves (53), 2nd in saves per game (4.82), and is first in shutouts (6).
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Baylee DeSmit is first in the conference in goals (5), first in points (13), tied for first in game-winning goals (3), and tied for 4th in assists (3).
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Olivia Quaranta is 3rd in the league in assists (4).
- As a team, the Greyhounds are third in goals scored (13), despite being being in 7th in shots (91).
Scouting Lafayette
- The Leopards come into the game with an 2-7-2 (0-2-1) on the season.
- Their two wins came against Saint Peter's and Seton Hall at home.
- Sara Oswald leads the team with 4 goals on the season, which is good for being tied for second on the season.
- April McDonald leads the team with 2 assists on the season.
- The Leopards have had two players start games this season. Natalie Neumann has started 9 games and has 23 saves, and a 2.36 GAA, while Lindsay Dewar has started in 2 games, while playing in 10 games, and tallying 20 saves, with a 1.60 GAA.
- Lafayette was picked to finish in 8th place in the Patriot League in the preseason poll, as they earned 47 points in the poll.
- The Leopards are coming off of a 2021 season in which they finished 5-10 (3-6), and missed the Patriot League Tournament.
Quick Notes Entering the Weekend
- The Greyhounds have a 12-4-9 conference record, dating back to the beginning of the 2019 season.
- The Greyhounds have posted 7 shutouts this season so far, including five straight games with a shutout, before it ended against Army.
- The Greyhounds had gone over 571 minutes since allowing their last goal, dating back to the game against Columbia.
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Baylee DeSmit has already surpassed her goal total from last season, while also having more assists.
- Three players earned Patriot League Player of the Week nods this year.
Sarah Mirr earned Midfielder of the Week twice,
Alex Searing was named Defensive Player of the Week, and
Paige Sim was named Goalkeeper of the Week twice.
- 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)
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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 recorded a shutout in 6 of the 11 games so far this season, despite being outshot in 6 of the 11 games.
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Paige Sim has recorded 6 or more saves in 5 of the 11 games this season, including a career-high 9 against Rice.
- Five different players have scored this season, and nine different players have recorded an assist.
- The Greyhounds have won 14 of the last 15 games in which they have scored two goals or more, which dates back to Sept. 6, 2018. Loyola was 4-0-0 in 2021 when scoring multiple goals during the season.
- The Greyhounds are 12-0-3 when scoring first and 9-0-1 when leading at halftime since the beginning of the 2021 season.
More on Sim
- Sim has recorded 22 wins in her career, including 21 shutouts.
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Paige Sim played 1,690 out of a possible 1,701 minutes last 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 22-13-13 with a 0.85 GAA, a .828 save percentage and 21 shutouts in 45 starts.
- Sims current ranks all-time at Loyola; in 3rd in saves (200, 97 from 2nd), 1st in save percentage (.826), 3rd in goals against average (0.83, .19 from 2nd), 2nd in wins (22, 14 away from 1st), 2nd in shutouts (21, 4 away from 1st), tied for 3rd in goalie games played (49, 15 away from 2nd) and 3rd in goalie games started (47, 16 from 3rd), and 4th in goalie minutes played (4,561:39 minutes, 171 from 3rd).
