Loyola Makes a Statement and More From D2 Around the Nation
Loyola Makes a Statement and More From D2 Around the Nation
Not too many surprises in Men's D2 college action this weekend.
Virginia beat Hampden-Sydney 77-15, which was a very different result from the first time these two teams faced off. Two weeks ago these two teams tied, but UVA fielded a less experienced lineup for that game.
Cavs scrumhalf Colin Baroudi scored two tries and in addition captain Wynn Morris scored twice and set up teammates for tries four times.
Rookie Will Costello also scored two, his first two, in fact, for Virginia.
This was a good result for UVA, who will be looking to take the #1 seed out of the Cardinals Conference into the NCR D2 playoffs.
Grand Valley State beat Ferris State 95-7 and are moving on toward a likely win in the Great Lakes Conference. Reinhart Stipp scored five tries in this game while Cal Schwandt had three. Grand Valley dominated possession against a tough, physical Ferris State team that just couldn't get the ball.
Five results in the Great Midwest set up the final standings of the conference. The big game was Loyola over Northwestern 35-17, which confirmed Loyola as the top team in the South at 5-0, with Northwestern at 4-1.
With a well-taken win on Thursday, benedictine secured a quarterfinal spot, while Whitewater's win over Milwaukee, coupled with Illinois State's loss switched those two teams in the North standings.
So here are the standings:
| GMW North | W | L | T | PA | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Northern Iowa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 310 | 55 | 255 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Marquette | 3 | 1 | 0 | 139 | 60 | 79 | 3 | 0 | 15 |
| UW-Whitewater | 2 | 2 | 0 | 105 | 198 | -93 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| Illinois State | 1 | 3 | 0 | 69 | 174 | -105 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| UW-Milwaukee | 0 | 4 | 0 | 68 | 204 | -136 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GMW South | W | L | T | PA | PA | PD | BT | BL | Pts |
| Loyola | 5 | 0 | 0 | 169 | 70 | 99 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Northwestern | 4 | 1 | 0 | 164 | 62 | 102 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Univ. Chicago | 3 | 2 | 0 | 188 | 57 | 131 | 3 | 2 | 17 |
| Benedictine | 2 | 3 | 0 | 93 | 151 | -58 | 2 | 0 | 10 |
| DePaul | 1 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 168 | -121 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| UIC | 0 | 5 | 0 | 55 | 208 | -153 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
So the quarterfinal matchups are here:
Loyola vs. Illinois State
Marquette vs. Chicago
Northern Iowa vs. Benedictine
Northwestern vs. UW-Whitewater
For Loyola, this was an important result under the lights in front of a big crowd. It was Seniors Recognition Night for Loyola and that certainly fueled them
"I think this squad is really starting to come together and demonstrate their talent and skill on the pitch," said Head Coach Sal Carfagno. "Last night was a really good demonstration of what we can do against better teams. We game-planned, practiced that plan, and executed it perfectly. We knew they had hard runners in their pack, a good 10-12 relationship, and used the foot a lot. We figured out how to take care of all those things."
As for players who have stood out, it seems, said Carfagno, that a different player steps up each week.
Flyhalf Lev Illouz was outstanding in his goalkicking and ran the attack well. This week Jaedon Satchell, Declan Heffernan, and finshers Luca Parato and AJ Awodein controlled the perimeter on both attack and defense.
"Our Pack dominated the set-pieces," added Carfagno. Kevin McKillop was a hugely problem for Northwestern on their own throw-ins in the lineout.
But ultimately it was more than that.
"It feels pretty good to have a 23-man win against a really good Northwestern side," said Carfagno. "I am really excited to see what this squad can do."
