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Preview

Quarterfinal #4: St Ignatius (24-4) vs Loyola (23-6-3)

Game Time: 8:15pm; Thursday, May 19

Coaches: St Ignatius-Mike Cashman (6th year) / Loyola-Rich Schici (7th year)

How They Got Here: St Ignatius beat Lane 11-3 at the UIC Sectional. Loyola beat New Trier 11-7 at the GBN Sectional.

Previous 2011 Meetings: St Ignatius leads the series 2-0. St Ignatius beat Loyola 8-5 (OT) on 4/6 and 9-6 on 5/7.

Current Rankings: St Ignatius - #3 / Loyola - #4

Top Performers: St Ignatius (Kate Stelnicki - 88 goals) / Loyola (Brittany Wallace - 123 goals)

The Goalies: St Ignatius (Kate Murphy) / Loyola (Kristina Alexander)

Key Factors: The Wolfpack have had the Ramblers number this season, winning both of the contests between the two teams. So who does that benefit? St Ignatius probably has the confidence to beat Loyola after those two encounters, but playing more than once has likely given Loyola head coach Rich Schici and company plenty of time to try and figure out a way to beat the Wolfpack when it matters most. St Ignatius will look to their defense to carry them as usual, just like they did when they limited Loyola to just 11 goals in the two games earlier this year. Can the vaunted St Ignatius defense keep the Ramblers from scoring, or will the one-two punch of Brittany Wallace and Evan Swenson find a way to outscore the Wolfpack and get to the semifinal round?

Other Players to Watch: 

St Ignatius (Maggie Maloney, Becky Insalaco, M. Murphy, Rebecca Martinez, Stephanie Fernandez, Tammy Stelnicki)

Loyola (Caitlin Sershon, Emily Levison, Evan Swenson, Kate Ansani, Rachel Nieman, Sarah Gross)