Nov. 2, 2008

Final Stats

Baltimore, Md. - Junior forward Jamie Darvill recorded the first hat-trick for a Loyola player in five seasons as the seventh-ranked Greyhounds claimed a 3-nil victory over Manhattan on Senior Day at Diane Geppi-Aikens Field, clinching their second consecutive MAAC regular-season title in the process.

Loyola (16-0-1 overall, 8-0 MAAC) has now won the MAAC regular-season title in six of the last nine years under Head Coach Mark Mettrick. The Greyhounds, who clinched a league title last year with an 8-1 record , secure consecutive regular-season league titles for the first time since 2000-2004, when the team won an impressive five straight under Mettrick.

With the victory, the unbeaten Greyhounds extend their unbeaten streak to a national-best 25 matches, going 23-0-2 in that span. The team has now won 19 of its last 20 games against Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference opponents.

Darvill's hat-trick was the first for a Loyola player since Sept. 27, 2003, when Omar Alfonso netted three goals in a 5-1 home win over Rider.

The Greyhounds wasted little time jumping on the Jaspers (3-13-1 overall, 1-5-1 MAAC), scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes.

Darvill converted a penalty-kick at the 4:53 mark after a Manhattan defender was flagged for a hand-ball in the box off a Loyola corner kick.

The forward quickly doubled the Loyola lead at the 9:12 mark on a rebound goal. Steven Bantock played a pretty ball to Darvill, whose initial effort was blocked by the keeper. Darvill though slid his follow-up to the left side of the frame for his second goal of the afternoon.

Loyola had a couple more opportunities in the first, none better than a header by defender Tennant McVea off a corner kick that barely skipped over the crossbar.

Mike Deasel helped secure the hat-trick for Darvill at the 51:43 mark in the second half. Deasel played a nice through-ball that found a streaking Darvill, who beat the keeper on a breakaway for his third goal of the match and his team-leading 14th of the season.

Senior Josh Taylor and Milos Kocic, both of whom were honored at Senior Day, made some nice contributions on the defensive end. Taylor made a nice block of a forward's shot at the 37:00 mark and had another good clearance in the 44th minute.

Kocic played all 90 minutes in the frame, making three saves on seven Manhattan shots. Loyola had 11 shots on the day.

The Greyhounds conclude their regular-season next weekend on the road, as they travel to Rider on Saturday for a 2 p.m. match.