No. 5 LOYOLA 1, No. 4 MISSOURI STATE 0
Box Score

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – No. 5 Loyola capitalized on a Fabian Lifka free kick at the 83:21 mark, as he dropped the ball past the wall of defenders that skipped past Missouri State goalkeeper Liam Priestley. The Ramblers held off the Bears in the final minutes of the match, advancing to the semifinals following a 1-0 victory over fourth-seeded Missouri State. 

Loyola maintained possession of the ball in the beginning of the first half, nearly taking advantage of its first good scoring opportunity in the 15th minute when the Ramblers sent a header past Priestley that was called back due to an offsides call on Loyola. 

Missouri State's best chance in the first half came when Scott Midgley sent the ball into the box from about 30 yards out, but Loyola's goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski was able to grab the ball amongst the crowd of bodies in the box.

The Bears came out more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball in the second half, putting pressure on Loyola's defense as Missouri State's Jake Buckle sailed the first shot of the half over the crossbar.

Loyola had two scoring opportunities within seconds of one another in the 55th minute of the match, as a Rambler fired a shot from six yards, but was blocked by a Missouri State defender. The shot was deflected straight to Loyola’s Brody Kraussel, who sent the ball wide of the goal.

Loyola advances to take on host and top-seeded SIUE on Friday in the second semifinal of the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Championship at 6:00 PM. The Ramblers and Cougars just faced each other in the regular-season finale last Saturday in Edwardsville, as SIUE earned a 1-0 overtime victory over Loyola. 

Missouri State ends its season at 6-6-5.