The Loyola University Maryland women’s soccer team will make its 17th appearance in the MAAC Championship title game, as the Greyhounds advanced to the finals of the 2011 Chick-fil-A MAAC Championship after defeated No. 2 seed Niagara, 5-0, on Friday night.
The Greyhounds have nine MAAC Championship titles, the most of any time in the conference.
Junior defender Kelsey Rene notched her first career game-winning goal, scoring twice in the first half against Niagara. Nichole Schiro added two in the second half while Toni Cowan rounded out the scoring with her first career goal.
Schiro has scored six goals in the last three games. Loyola has won all three of those.
The Greyhounds are 9-3-4 all-time in MAAC title games, including 2-1-1 in Baltimore. The last time Loyola won a MAAC title on its home field was 1996 when they defeated Siena 2-0.
Loyola improved to 7-3 at home in MAAC tournament games with the win over Niagara.
Loyola has never won a shootout in a title game, going 0-4.
Scouting the Red Foxes
Marist is making its third-straight trip to the MAAC tournament and third overall appearance in the finals.
Marist advanced to the finals after beating No. 4 seed Fairfield on a shootout (4-3. The teams finished tied at one at the end of regulation.
The Red Foxes have never won a MAAC title.
Marist claimed the 2011 MAAC regular-season crown with a 7-1-1 record in conference play.
Freshman forward Amanda Epstein was honored as the 2011 MAAC Rookie of the Year, becoming the first Red Fox to earn the distinction.
The 12 overall wins this season set a program record.
First-year Head Coach Kate Lyn was honored as the Anaconda Sports Coach of the Year.
Seven Marist players were honored as either First Team, Second Team or All-Rookie selections.
The last time Marist was in the title game was in 2007, when they lost, 2-0, to the Greyhounds.
Series with Marist
This will be the 20th meeting all-time between the Red Foxes and the Greyhounds, with Loyola holding a 12-3-4 overall advantage in the series.
Marist has won the last two match-ups, both by 1-0 scores. The last time the two teams met was on October 16 of this season when Amanda Epstein headed in a goal in the first overtime to give Marist the win.
Loyola is 5-2-2 all-time in Baltimore. The last win for the Greyhounds in the series was on October 9, 2009, at Loyola.
Loyola vs. Marist in MAAC Championship
The two sides have met four times in the MAAC Championship: twice in the semifinal and twice in the finals
Loyola has won all four previous meetings, outscoring the Red Foxes 10-1. Marist has not scored against the Greyhounds in a MAAC tournament game since October 31, 1997.
The last time the two teams met in the MAAC tournament was in the finals in 2007. Loyola won that game by a final of 2-0 in a game that was played at Marist.
Loyola vs. MAAC
The Greyhounds have registered a 135-17-15 in regular-season play against MAAC foes and 162-23-21 overall.
Loyola has seven regular-season MAAC titles, with the last coming in 2009.
Loyola in MAAC Championship
The Greyhounds are making their 19th appearance in the MAAC Championship out of 20 years in the conference.
Loyola has now advanced to 17 title games, winning nine of those.
The Greyhounds last won a tournament title in 2009, beating Niagara, 3-2.
Loyola is 27-5-7 overall in MAAC tournament games and 13-2-2 in semifinal matches.
Last Time Loyola was in the Finals...
The Greyhounds defeated Niagara, 3-2, in 2009 to win their ninth MAAC title.
Loyola trailed 2-0 at halftime, but scored three times in the second half to win the game.
Gigi Mangione scored the game-tying goal, while Tessa McClenahan scored the game-winner. Mangione was named MVP of the tournament.
Greyhounds as the No. 3 Seed
This is the 4th time in Loyola’s 19 appearances that the Greyhounds have been the No. 3 seed.
In the previous three times the Greyhounds have been the No. 3 seed, they have won the tournament title.
The last time the Greyhounds were the No. 3 seed was in 2007, when they defeated Fairfield, 2-0, in the semifinals and Marist, 2-0, in the finals.
Schiro Climbing Charts
With two more goals against Niagara, junior forward Nichole Schiro continued to add on to her career record total with 37 goals.
Schiro has 13 goals this season, the fourth-most in a single-season in Loyola history while her 30 points this year ranks third.
The Okemos, Mich., native ranks second all-time in career points with 85, trailing Carolyn Kennington by four for the all-time record.
Rene Makes Her Mark
Kelsey Rene scored her first career game-winning goal in the, 5-0, victory over Niagara.
She became the first multi-goal scorer other than Nichole Schiro since Lea Day in November of 2008.
All-MAAC Honors
Nichole Schiro was named 2011 MAAC Offensive Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. She was joined on the first team by Rene. Jenny Thornton, Gigi Mangione and Didi Haracic all earned second team honors. Amanda Reverberi and Kelly Santagelo were named to the All-Rookie Teams
