The Loyola men’s soccer team played the season’s first 79 days without a loss, but the past nine have resulted in heartbreak.
One of the greatest seasons in Loyola history ended with a 2-1 overtime loss to UNC-Greensboro in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on a chilly Tuesday night at Evergreen.
The ninth-seeded Greyhounds (18-2-1) lost their first game this season, 1-0, to Fairfield in the final of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament on Nov. 16 before ending the year in front of 1,328 fans at Diane Geppi-Aikens field.
The Spartans, who tied the game in 74th minute, dominated overtime, as they created several scoring chances before midfielder Corey Maret ripped a loose ball into the corner of the goal from about 16 yards away in the third minute of the extra session.
Several Greyhounds who failed to clear the ball fell to the ground with their hands covering their faces as the Spartans stormed the field in celebration.
UNC-Greensboro (10-11-2) won the Southern Conference Tournament as the seventh seed and advanced to face the Greyhounds by becoming just the third sub-.500 team to win an NCAA Tournament game when they beat Duke, 2-0. The Spartans became the first team with a losing record to advance to the third round in the tournament’s 50-year history.
The Spartans advance to play Harvard (12-5) or eighth-seeded South Florida (14-4-2) this weekend.
Trailing 1-0, the Spartans controlled much of the play in the second half, but struggled to generate quality chances before finally tying the score in the 74th minute. Loyola goalie Milos Kocic made a diving save off a shot from midfielder Jokull Elisabetarson, but the rebound bounced to the foot of forward Nirav Kadam, who scored from close range.
They Greyhounds outshot the Spartans, 11-1, in the first half and 17-11 for the game.
Loyola had its first chance in the 16th minute when sophomore midfielder Eddie Dines took a slick pass inside the penalty box from forward Phil Bannister. But Berry’s weak shot from just a few yards away was smothered by UNC-Greensboro goalie Nate Berry.
The Greyhounds finally got on the board in the 25th minute when Bannister headed a hard, low cross from Jamie Darvill into the far corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead at intermission.
