Men's Soccer Quest in the College Cup begins Tuesday

All the wins. All the streaks. All the goals scored. The undefeated regular season. Everything the Loyola College Men’s Soccer Team has worked for this fall has given them the opportunity to showcase themselves on their home field in late November. Greyhounds fans, this is it! Diane Geppi-Aikens Field will be the venue for the biggest on-campus event the Evergreen Campus has hosted in recent memory Tuesday evening.

Loyola (18-1-1), nationally seeded #9, will oppose UNC Greensboro in the second round of the NCAA College Cup at 9pm in North Baltimore.

The Greyhounds have enjoyed a special season form the start that resulted in the school’s first undefeated regular-season campaign since 1986. After an 18-0-1 start to the season they owned the nation’s longest unbeaten streak at 25, a mark that dated back to last season. By season’s end, Coach Mark Mettrick’s team, whose identity has long been the play of its stubborn defense, emerged ranked #2 in the nation in goals/game at 2.4

They have gotten tremendous play on its backline from junior sweeper, Tennant McVea, who won his second consecutive MAAC Defensive Play of the Year Award and Milos Kocic, the MAAC Coaches’ choice for conference Goalie of the Year.

The offense has fired on all cylanders all season, led by Jamie Darvill, a junior forward, who has been tabbed MACC Offensive Play of the Year and has appeared on some publication’s All-America Team lists. Sophomore midfielder Phil Bannister, second on the team in points with 32, was 1 of 33 student-athletes named an Academic All-American last week.

This is UNC Greensboro’s 4th College Cup appearance in the last 5 years, but finished the season just 9-11-2. However, the Spartans are riding a major winning streak; this past Friday they went on the road and took out the favored Duke Blue Devils 2-0, and last week as the #7 seen in the SoCon Tournament they ran the table, winning the conference’s NCAA Tournament automatic qualifier bid.

Here’s really hoping the crowd is a good one. My guess is it won’t be as good as it should be. I’m not sure the cold temperatures will keep too potential spectators away as much as students who will be on their way home after classes for the Thanksgiving Holiday. It’s a real shame if the Loyola students don’t come out in large numbers. The team has had a special feel to it all season and the campus has really rallied around them, but it’s very difficult to get the student body to resist taking the first train home