BALTIMORE –
Baylee DeSmit scored once in each half on Saturday, leading Loyola University Maryland to a 2-1 win over visiting Lafayette College, giving the Greyhounds' their first-ever 3-0-0 start in the Patriot League since joining the conference in 2013.
DeSmit's goals brought her season total to six, tops in the Patriot League, and her four points pushed that season mark to 18, also at the top of the conference.
The first tally came in the 32
nd minute when she drew a foul less than two yards from the top of the box on the left side. DeSmit curled the ensuing free kick from her right to left, tucking it inside the near post to give the Greyhounds a 1-0 advantage.
She nearly had her brace less than a minute later when she got free up the right side after a long pass over the top of the defense. DeSmit struck her shot, but Lafayette goalkeeper Lindsay Dewar got a hand on it with a full extension dive to deflect it for a corner kick.
The Greyhounds (8-2-0 overall, 3-0-0 Patriot League) had another scoring opportunity in the final seconds of the half, but Dewar made a save on a
Francesca Khachatourians shot to keep the Leopards within one.
DeSmit put a shot wide left in the opening minute of the second half, but the Greyhounds would add to their lead less than six minutes later.
Kelly Hutton turned to the goal on the right side after a long run, and her shot cleared the mouth of the goal and deflected off the left post. It rebounded to DeSmit who cleaned it up for her second goal of the afternoon.
Lafayette (6-3-0, 2-1-0), however, reduced its deficit in the 71
st minute with a play that developed on the left side. Sara Oswald crossed a ball into the box, and Melissa Lamanna found the other end of it to score into the top right of the goal.
The Leopards' goal was the first yielded by Loyola in Patriot League play this season and snapped a scoreless stretch of 325-plus minutes by Greyhounds opponents, dating back to September 10 against Longwood.
Loyola nearly got its lead back to two on a pair of occasions, both generated off balls by DeSmit, but Dewar saved headers by both
Chloe Kuminkoski and
Olivia Quaranta in the 78
th and 87
th minutes, respectively.
The win was the sixth in a row for the Greyhounds, the longest winning streak since the 2011 team won nine in a row. It is tied for the fourth-longest streak in program history.
Saturday's game concluded a stretch of three Patriot League games in eight days to start the conference schedule. Loyola will be off until Saturday, September 30, when it hosts Colgate University at 3 p.m.
