CHICAGO (Oct. 23, 2009) Senior Cynthia Morote-Ariza scored in the 81st minute to propel the Loyola-Chicago’s soccer team past Detroit, 1-0, on Friday night (Oct. 23) at Loyola Soccer Park. The match was Morote-Ariza’s first of the season after rehabbing from an injury.

The win clinches a berth into the Horizon League Tournament for the Ramblers (4-12-2, 3-2-2 Horizon League) with just one league match left on the schedule. The Titans fall to 3-12-2 overall and 1-5-1 in league play with the loss.

I’m relieved to get into the tournament, said Loyola head coach Frank Mateus. The new format puts more pressure on teams to do well. Detroit is a good team and they gave us all they had, but it’s just a sigh of relief to get these three points here.

A back-and-forth first half amounted to a 0-0 tie at halftime, with both teams recording five shots. Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Groesch made four of her five saves in the first half on the way to her sixth shutout of the season.

The score remained tied at zero late into the second half. Loyola had a prime opportunity in the 71st minute when a foul inside the goal area gave the Ramblers a penalty kick. Laura Trevillian did the honors but was denied by Detroit goalkeeper Joanna Hinde.

The tie was finally broken in the 81st minute when junior Allie Roufus sent a pass from the left side of the field to Morote-Ariza, who beat her defender and faked Hinde into sliding past her before sending the ball into an open net for the game-winner.

I’m happy to see her play as well as she did, said Mateus. It really didn’t surprise me to see her come back in such a short period of time from the injury like she did. She’s one of the best players in the country, period.

The Ramblers will conclude their home season this Sunday (Oct. 25)against Butler. The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. CT.