ST. LOUIS, Mo. – After another remarkable season under the direction of head coach
Matt Pucci, the Loras College women's soccer season came to an end on Friday as the Purple and Gold fell short, 1-0, in a tough Round of 16 matchup against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Eagles.
The Duhawks (18-2-1 overall) suffered their first loss since Sept. 13, as the Eagles (20-1-1) advance to tomorrow's Elite Eight match against Washington University in St. Louis.
Loras and La Cross battled back and forth over the game's first 30 minutes, with the Eagles recording three shots to Loras' one. The Eagles broke the tie in the 33
rd minute as Claire Carter scored the only goal of the match off an assist by Chelsea Gale.
The Duhawks managed to fire off four more shots before the end of the half but were unsuccessful. UW-La Crosse tightened up its defense in the second half, limiting Loras to one shot over the final 45 minutes.
Leading the Duhawk defense was
Kyndal Kells, who finished with eight saves in 89 minutes of action.
Reagan Lindsay and
Lauren Riggle led the offense with two shots each, while
Kaighin Frost and
Katie Callahan each recorded one.
Loras finishes the 2023 season with an undefeated home record (11-0-1), marking the third-straight season that the Duhawks finished with an unblemished mark on its home pitch. Eight student-athletes made the A-R-C All-Conference team, with
Savannah Johnson getting tabbed as the Most Valuable Offensive Player.