EASTON, Pa. – Oct. 26 marked Senior Day for the Lafayette men's soccer program, which concluded in a 1-0 Leopards' victory over Loyola at Gummeson Grounds: Home of Mike Bourger '44 Field at Oaks Stadium.

The Leopards created the first dangerous chance of the match in the fourth minute. Loyola conceded a foul 25 yards from goal, allowing sophomores Beaux Lizewski and Roy Biegon to stand over the free kick. Lizewski struck a curled effort towards Loyola's Dylan van der Walt's goal, but the keeper pushed the ball onto the crossbar and Loyola cleared its lines.

Moments later, Lafayette won a penalty kick after a Leopard attacker was fouled in the box. Senior skipper Carter Houlihan stepped up to the spot to take the penalty in the seventh minute, but his effort was comfortably saved by van der Walt.

The Maroon and White continued to dominate the first half and their hard work paid off in the 31^st minute. The ball was pinballing around before Lizewski won his individual battle, picking the ball up 40 yards from goal. The Cranberry Township, Pa. native then performed a roulette around a Greyhound before playing a through ball to senior forward Andrey McIntyre. The Hanover, Jamaica native used his raw pace to beat his defender and he calmly tucked the ball into the bottom left corner of van der Walt's goal. This was McIntyre's second-straight match with a goal.

The remainder of the first half was physical from both sides, but Lafayette led 1-0 at the intermission.

During halftime, two special groups were honored. 2024 marks the 50^th anniversary of the 1974 men's soccer team that had a 9-2-2 finish under head coach Gary Williams after not recording a single win the year prior. Lafayette Athletics and the men's soccer program were also saddened to learn of the passing of former player Matthew L. Marinelli '86. The Marinelli family was in attendance and some of Matthew's former teammates spoke about him before presenting the family with three framed jerseys to commemorate Matt's time and impact on College Hill.

The second half of play lacked quality in the attacking third by both sides. Loyola began to set itself farther up the field, looking for an equalizer. The visitors outshot Lafayette 8-6 in the second half but senior goalkeeper Griffin Huff was only called into action once.

Loyola looked dangerous on corner kicks, but despite its few half-chances in the Leopards' penalty area, Lafayette's back line held strong for 90 minutes, securing its third clean sheet of the campaign.

The Leopards return to the pitch at 7 p.m. on Friday as they venture to Lewisburg, Pa. to face Bucknell.
 

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