The Orange and Blue fell short to Loyola Chicago 4–1 in their opening match of the weekend.

The Ramblers came into this match after a 9–5–2 season last year, while the Bison were 4–10–3 in the 2021 season. Loyola Chicago had a solid all around game, scoring two goals in each half. 

Loyola Chicago scored four unanswered goals until the Bison put one on the board late in the game, with Michael Dempsey ’25 volleying a long throw into the net from Jackson Sullivan ’26, who picked up his first collegiate assist. Bennett Schwartz ’23 was in net for the Bison, making five saves, while the Orange and Blue got outshot 17–7. Several players played their first minutes as Bison. Joining the starting lineup was Waldemar Kattrup ’25, Charlie Holmes ’26 and Marco Valentic ’26. Seeing minutes off the bench were Sullivan, Cade McGrath ’26 and Ben Sheffield ’26. 

The Orange and Blue faced DePaul on Sunday, falling 0–2. DePaul had two first half goals, ultimately leading to the defeat of the Bison. Schwartz was the starting goalie for the Bison again. Both teams had four shots in the second half, but neither team converted any of the shots to goals. The Bison had a few chances at the end of the match to get on the board, but despite these efforts, they could not put the ball in the back of the net. 

“I think we learned a lot from this weekend. We didn’t get the result that we wanted, but I think it will help us with the rest of the season,” Bison captain MJ Kuczura ’24 said. 

The Orange and Blue go on the road again on Friday to play their next game versus St. Bonaventure.