It came down to the last day of the regular season, but the Cubs got it done. Again.
Loyola's Varsity Soccer team secured a 5th straight Mission League championship with a 2-0 shutout over the visiting Chaminade Eagles on Friday afternoon (Feb. 4). Goals came in each half courtesy of sophomore midfielder Marco Bottene '24 (8’) and senior forward Caden Ambrose '22 (70’), while the backline and senior keeper Zach Driscoll '22 preserved Loyola’s eighth clean sheet of the season and their seventh in the last eight matches.
—
While last year's Varsity team (comprised of 11 seniors—eight of which were full-time starters) ran the table in league with a 12-0-0 record and zero goals allowed in 2021, HC Chris Walter '93 and his young 2022 squad found themselves in unfamiliar territory to begin this year's league slate.
The Cubs were just 2-1-1 through their first four games and staring up at two league rivals in St. Francis and Harvard-Westlake ahead of them in the standings. Still, the Cubs stayed the course and steadied throughout the month of January, racking up five more wins and going unbeaten in their last 10 league matches.
A pair of crucial ties against the Golden Knights and a redemption victory over the Wolverines kept the Cubs within arms distance of first place, and with the help of a few other non-contending Mission League teams garnering favorable results against St. Francis and Harvard-Westlake, Loyola was suddenly back in the driver’s seat with one game left on the schedule.
All that was needed to secure the title outright was a win, and the full three points are exactly what the Cubs got. Bottene and Ambrose put the finishing touches on the Senior Day victory against the Eagles to lock up the 2022 Mission League championship and their 13th in the last 14 seasons.
Loyola would finish with a 9-1-2 overall record and 29 points, edging out eventual second-place St. Francis, who at 8-0-4 finished with 28 points. The win marked the 22nd time in the last 27 years that Loyola has won the Mission League Varsity Soccer title.
—
JV: Loyola's JV squad wrapped up their season on Wednesday (Feb. 2) with a 3-0 win over rival Harvard-Westlake, ending with an impressive 12-2-3 overall record. The Cubs did not drop a match in their last 13 contests.
FROSH: The Freshman Soccer team will conclude their season later this afternoon (Feb. 5) in the finals of the Cathedral Frosh Soccer Tournament. The Cubs sport a nearly identical 12-3-3 record and have gone unbeaten in their last 11 matches.
—
UP NEXT: The first-place Cubs will now await their CIF-SS Div. I Playoff draw with the 2022 bracket being released on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 9AM.
- First Round: Fri, Feb. 11
- Second Round: Tues, Feb. 15
- Quarterfinal: Fri, Feb. 18
- Semifinal: Tues, Feb. 22
- Final: Sat, Feb. 26
- CIF State SoCal Regionals: March 1, 3 & 5
Note: All playoff games (except for the championship final) will be set for either 3PM or 5PM. Dates and locations for each round will depend on coin flips. More details about Loyola's playoff placement to be announced on the Tuesday, Feb. 8th.