Hounds go 7-0 in MAAC, stifle Fairfield, Iona

The Loyola Women's soccer team won their 46th conference game in a row and their eighth straight game overall on Sunday afternoon after beating Iona 4-0 at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field. The victory brings their record to 9-5-2 and 7-0-0 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.

Four different players scored for the Hounds and the defense looked strong and aggressive continuing their season long dominance.

"We're playing really well, we're very excited with the MAAC tournament coming up," said senior Kaitlin Klar. "We need to keep the intensity up. It's what fuels our fire."

It did not take long for the Hounds to get started as senior Katelyn Woods scored off a Courtney Arikian pass to put the Greyhounds on the board to start the game. The Hounds continued to create chances on offense, but were unable to capitalize on their 10 first half shots.

The Loyola offense had the ball for a good part of the first half giving the defense a slight break and allowing sophomore goalie Amanda Piccirilli to have an easy first half.

The Hounds really started to spread the ball around in the second half as seven players attempted shots with five of those players managing shots on goal.

However, none of the shots seemed to fall during the first few minutes of the second half. But with less then 15 minutes to play, the Hounds' offense came together starting with a goal from freshman Heather Cooke off a pass from fellow freshman Rachel Shuck. Shuck was not done, as she punched in a close range shot off a pass from sophomore Theresa Ferraina to give the hounds a 3-0 lead with only 11 minutes left.

Iona managed just four shots, three of which were saved by Piccirilli. The Gales did not manage a goal as the aggressive Loyola defense led by senior Caitlin McCusker, stifled every Gael opportunity.

With under a minute left in the game the Hounds pushed the ball up the field. Senior Kaitlin Klar took the ball and passed ahead to fellow senior and team anchor Carolyn Kennington. Kennington controlled the ball inside the box and rocketed a shot with under 5 seconds remaining to finish off the Gaels, 4-0.

Loyola looked just as good on Friday afternoon as the managed to shut out inner conference foe Fairfield 2-0. Once again the defense came to play, notching their sixth shutout of the season.

"I think [the defense] is doing a phenomenal job," said Kennington. "No matter who steps in there, they're all ready to play and do a great job."

The Hounds put the pressure on early scoring in the first 11 minutes as Kennington chipped a pass forward drawing out Fairfield's keeper. Klar took Kennington's pass and blasted it in the back of the net to give the Hounds an early 1-0 lead.

Kennington was fouled with six minutes left in the first half and the referees awarded the Hounds a penalty kick. Arikian took the free kick and scored to give the Hounds a 2-0 cushion.

That would be all that freshman keeper Brittany Henderson and the defense would need. The Hounds held off Fairfield, allowing them only two second half shots. Henderson finished with two saves for the game.

Last week proved to be just as rewarding for the Greyhounds as they grabbed two victories. The first was a 2-0 victory over Marist, a slow paced game that featured only 13 total shots (9-4 in favor of Loyola) and not much defense outside the midfield area.

Loyola's first goal was off the foot of Sophomore Lea Day in the second half as she managed to squirt a goal through the keeper's legs. Just five minutes later, Loyola put the insurance goal in the net when freshmen Colleen Kinealy headed in a free kick from Arikian.

Sophomore Lea Day scored two goals in the October 13th game against Siena as the Hounds fought for a 2-1 victory. Freshman Christina Gomez was given the assist on Day's first goal which was a rocket from the right corner that ricocheted off the left post and into the back of the net.

Day scored her second goal less then a minute after Siena managed to tied the game up at 1. No goals were scored in the second half even though Loyola managed 12 second half shots.

The Hounds have two remaining away games on their schedule, the first against Manhattan and the second pits them against St. Peter's. Head Coach John Byford and the team are confident going into the tournament.

"With our record right now there is no reason we won't play in the tournament," said Byford. "But we want to go in their 9-0."

Regardless, the Hounds will be a highly feared team once the MAAC tournament begins on November 2nd.