BALTIMORE, Md.- The Lafayette men's soccer team fell to Loyola 2-0 on Saturday evening.
In the fifth minute of action, junior goalkeeper
Griffin Huff made a routine save to keep the Greyhounds off the board.
Tyler Tucker broke the deadlock for Loyola in the sixth minute of play. Tucker picked the ball off of a Leopard defender before he began to stride towards goal. The freshman opened up his body and slotted home his first career goal past Huff to give the Greyhounds the early lead.
Lafayette slowly began to grow into the game after junior
Connor Dawson won the Leopards a corner after his long-range effort was blocked.
The Maroon and White found their first clear-cut opportunity in the 32
nd minute. Dawson had the ball on the left flank before he whipped in a service towards the back stick. Freshman
Beaux Lizewski was the first one to the ball. His headed effort made its way to junior
Lawrence Aydlett. Aydlett beat his man to the spot but his header soared over the crossbar.
In the 37
th minute, the Greyhounds doubled their advantage. A Lafayette defender fouled a Greyhound in the box which gave Loyola a penalty kick. Jordy Luchies stepped up to the spot and converted for Loyola, rifling the ball past Huff.
Going into halftime Loyola held its 2-0 lead.
Senior captain
Hale Lombard got his first sniff of goal in the 52
nd minute. A fellow Leopard supplied a long-ball forward as Lombard ran in behind the Greyhounds back line. Lombard picked the ball out of the air beautifully, but his effort rippled into the side netting of the goal.
Benji Grossi had a great chance in the 64
th minute. Grossi picked the ball up on the left flank before driving inside. As he twisted and turned, Grossi found room to fire a low shot towards Dylan van der Walt, but he was up to the task and made a crucial foot save.
As time wound down, Lafayette increased its urgency to find some goals. Dawson stood over a free kick with six minutes to play. His service found an impending Lombard in the six-yard box, but his header soared over the bar.
The match ended 2-0 in favor of Loyola.
Lafayette is back in action at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday as it travels to Stony Brook for its final non-conference match of the season.
