Loyola holds off Latin to reach semis

When Loyola jumped out to an 8-2 second-quarter lead on Latin in Thursday’s state quarterfinals at Stevenson, the Ramblers were hoping the defense could hold the cushion and help them cruise.

“It worked out, but it was a little too close for comfort,” Loyola senior Charlie Dowdle said.

The deficit was cut to one by Latin with 3:45 left in the fourth quarter before the Ramblers tacked on a Danny Stauder goal and hung on for a 14-12 win.

“It was important to get that big cushion,” Loyola coach Dan Hengelmann said. “Maybe we got a little too amped. We knew it wasn’t going to be a pushover.”

By the 5:12 mark of the second quarter, Loyola (28-6) raced out to an 8-2 lead thanks to three goals apiece from Tim Netzel and Brendan Hulseman. But Latin (21-7-1) got three goals apiece from Jacob Himmel and Edward Wickes to cut the lead to 9-6 by the half.

Loyola held a 13-9 lead after three quarters, but the Romans again fought back. Goals from Dylan Levin, Himmel and Parker Wilkie cut the lead to 13-12 with 3:45 to play.

† The Ramblers advance to face Lockport, which defeated Stevenson 9-6 to reach the program’s first semifinal.

Dan Oldendorf and David Hir scored three goals apiece for the Porters (22-7).

Alex Shkiler paced the Patriots (24-9) with four goals.

† Kovas Zygas and Joe Shannon scored two goals apiece after halftime as Lyons held Naperville North scoreless in the second half en route to an 8-4 victory.

Chris Sekula made 11 saves for the Lions (32-2), while Eric Curia led the Huskies (30-4) with two goals.

† After falling behind 3-0 to Fremd (26-7), Sandburg (28-6) rallied for an 11-5 win behind seven goals from senior Matt Veldmann.