Loyola Sports April 8 Roundup: Girls Soccer Jumps Out

Boys Water Polo: Play early and play often has been the motto for coach Daniel Hengelmann this season. Loyola Academy’s water polo team (10-8 overall, 5-2 in the Catholic League) has played more games than anyone in the state so far this season, and Hengelmann is counting on these early season games to be a stepping stone into the playoffs.

“We know that experience and chemistry will pay off,” he said. “The boys are getting better every day, and we'll be ready for [the] sectionals.”

The Ramblers may already be ahead of the curve. On Wednesday, No. 15 Loyola took down No. 3 St. Ignatius, 11-10.

“[The Ramblers] pulled off a huge upset on Senior Night,” Hengelmann said.

After trailing 7-5, the Ramblers tied it when Charlie Dowdle converted a penalty shot in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 9-9. Brendan Hulseman scored less than a minute later and goalie Robbie O’Connor notched his 10th save of the evening with only three seconds remaining to seal the game for the Ramblers.

“We look completely different than we did at the beginning of the year--or last week for that matter,” Hengelmann said. “Things are starting to fall into place, roles are being more clearly defined, and we are winning games.”

Girls Water Polo: The No. 8 Ramblers (12-3) had their 10-game winning streak snapped Wednesday in a loss to No. 4 St. Ignatius in overtime at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Evan Swenson had three goals to pace the Ramblers and Kristina Alexander made eight saves in goal.

Earlier this week Loyola defeated Oak Park, 11-3.

Girls Soccer: Backed by a strong defense, No. 2 ranked Loyola has jumped out to a 6-0-2 record, gaining three wins over Central Suburban League foes Glenbrook North, Glenbrook South and Evanston. The Ramblers didn’t allow a goal in their first games, outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 20-0.

After consecutive ties against Madison Edgebrook and Madison Memorial, the Ramblers rebounded to beat Libertyville 2-0 in the Pepsi Showdown, which continues through next weekend.

Girls Track: Loyola took fifth place at the 25-team Jackie Joyner-Kersee East St. Louis Invitational last weekend.

The Ramblers got individual first-place finishes from Katie Simons in the pole vault with a mark of 9-0 and Natalie Kaminski in the 3,200-meter race (12:03.71). Loyola’s distance medley team of Maddie Fassett, Ann Marie McGuire, Lauren Composto and Natalie Composto also took home first place with a time of 13:29.06 to cover the 2.5-mile relay.

Swimming and Diving: Dennis Stonequist is stepping down as the head coach for both the boys and girls swimming and diving teams.

Both Rambler teams had excellent seasons this past year. Sophomore Andrew Jovanovic took home state titles in the 50-yard freestyle and 100-yard butterfly.

Athletic director Pat Mahoney has started looking for a replacement and the deadline to submit resumes for the position is April 18.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING:

Baseball:

Hersey 11, Loyola 6 on April 6.

Rockhurst Jesuit 5, Loyola 2 on April 1.

Desmet Jesuit 9, Loyola 7 on April 1.

Boys Lacrosse:

Loyola 4, St. Viator 2 (2 OT) on April 6

Softball:

No. 2 Elk Grove 11, Loyola 1 on April 5.

De La Salle 13, Loyola 2 on April 4.

Mother McAuley 12, Loyola 5 on April 2.

Mother McAuley 8, Loyola 4 on April 2.

Loyola 7, Hersey 6 on March 31.

Boys Tennis:

Loyola 5, St. Laurence 0