During the off season, Loyola soccer has been focussed on postseason success after a disappointing 2017 season. Last year the varsity soccer team went 6-3-3 in league play and failed to advance past CIF quarterfinal playoffs for the first time in eight years.
Despite falling to Palos Verdes High School 1-3 in the CIF divisional quarterfinals, the soccer team has their sights on bringing the state title back to Loyola for the 2018 season.
To maintain their skills and physical conditioning, the players played on club teams. Recently, the boys have been working out with Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Andre Woodert three mornings a week for the past month in order to strengthen their legs for the upcoming season. The team began afternoon practice on Nov. 6 in preparation for the pre-season scrimmages and tournaments.
Coaches Chris Walter ’93 and Trevor Mutch ’98 are optimistic about the upcoming season.
Mutch said, “The strength of this roster is how deep we are and how many good players we have on the team. We will look for leadership out of our seniors and we’ve been happy with what we’ve seen so far.”
Walter said, “All of the players want to win Mission League again. More important than that, we want to bring a CIF Championship to Loyola.”
Loyola will play in a series of tournaments and scrimmages before league play in January. These matches are designed to help teams get a feel for competitive play and help coaches set their lineups prior to the start of the season.
The team will open their season Nov. 11 with a scrimmage against Palos Verdes and will begin competitive play at Westside Tournament at Mira Costa on Nov. 28.
The varsity team will begin Mission League play as they travel to Crespi on Jan. 1 and will play their first home game against Chaminade on Dec. 10.
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