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Unlike on the women’s side, the MVC is a top conference in men’s soccer, ranking 11^th in league RPI in 2013—even after losing perennial men’s soccer power Creighton from the previous year.  Three of the seven MVC men’s soccer teams ranked in the top 100 in RPI in 2013:  Bradley (#49), Drake(#61), and league champion Missouri State (#97).  Loyola was picked to finish seventh (last) in the MVC preseason poll and sixth by Ramblermania as a newcomer to the league in 2013, but finished the year in fifth place with a 2-3-1 record (6-11-2 overall).

The 2014 Loyola Ramblers return seven starters from their inaugural season in the MVC, a season that was highly competitive except for defensive meltdowns in a few  games against top competition.  Against Big East, Big 10, and ranked opponents the Ramblers were 0-5 and outscored 18-4; against all others Loyola had a respectable 6-6-2 record and were outscored by only two goals on the season.  Loyola will need to put goals in the back of the net more consistently and play tighter defense to compete this year, especially given the loss of their second-best scorer Eric Nock to graduation.

Senior Brian Bement will be expected to take up much of the scoring slack.  The mercurial forward ranked 2^nd in the MVC last season in goals scored with eight, despite coming off the bench in limited playing time for most of the second half of the season.  Two juniors– midfielder Ryan Howe and forward Jake Savino will need to score more consistently.  Big 6’4” freshman  forward Elliot Collier from New Zealand may add a slightly different offensive look to this year’s team.  Senior Brian Lunar, junior Daniel Hare, and sophomore Kirill Likhovid will anchor the back line in front of experienced junior goalkeeper Tim Dobrowolski.

Defending league regular season champs Missouri State are the favorites to win the conference in 2014.  MSU returns nine starters from last year’s team that featured a smothering defense that allowed only eight goals on the entire season, and had a stretch of seven consecutive games (plus four overtime periods) without allowing a single goal.  Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, picked to finish first last year and returning almost all of their starters from 2013, may challenge for the league title along with Bradley and Evansville (also returning nearly all their starters).

It would be encouraging to see Loyola match their fifth place finish from 2013, but absent a very surprising season-long performance from a newcomer or an epiphany on the back line, Ramblermania sees the conference race shaping up like this:

1. Missouri State
2. Evansville
3. SIUE
4. Bradley
5. Drake
6. Loyola
7. Central Arkansas

The regular season kicks off at Loyola Soccer Park on Sat., Aug. 30 at 7:00 p.m. when Dayton visits in a return game from last season.  The conference season begins Sat., Sept. 27 when Bradley visits Loyola Soccer Park at 7:00 p.m.

Last year, Loyola was picked to finish seventh (last) in the MVC women’s soccer standings.  The Ramblers surprised many in their first season in the MVC, finishing third with a 3-3-0 conference record and 6-8-6 overall—but Ramblermania wasn’t surprised, picking Loyola to finish second in the conference.  Only a double-overtime home loss to Missouri State kept the Ramblermania prediction from coming true.

The 2014 Ramblers promise to be a more experienced version of the 2013 team.  For the past several years, the Ramblers have been one of the stingiest teams in their league on defense.  The Ramblers were second in the MVC in goals allowed in their inaugural campaign in the league, while ranking fourth in goals scored.  Last year’s roster featured only four seniors, only two of whom were regular starters.  Unfortunately, one of the lost players was Loyola’s most prolific scorer, Monica Stonebreaker, who scored or assisted on eight of Loyola’s 18 goals on the season.

The additional goal scoring in 2014 will have to be made up from experienced players like senior forward Sammy Gage, who ranked first in goals scored and second in points despite only starting six of Loyola’s 20 matches.  Loyola’s second highest returning goal scorer is sophomore defender Hailey Merrill, who was named to the pre-season MVC team.  It’s likely that Loyola will have to see more scoring from midfielders like senior Monika Lee, junior Jessica Bean, and sophomore Alex Gage– each of whom scored only one goal last season.

The back line for the Ramblers will be experienced and solid once again in keeping the pressure off senior goalkeeper Monica Gonyo.  The Ramblers lost defender Alex Brown to graduation, but the core of the back line remains otherwise intact.  The defensive philosophy of Loyola’s fourth-year head coach Barry Bimbi should be familiar to the players seeing most of the minutes.

The 2014 MVC Preseason poll nearly mirrored the finish of the 2013 conference standings, with the Ramblers picked to finish third behind Illinois State and Indiana State.  However, the young Ramblers have been very competitive with those two teams the past two seasons, going 2-0 against Indiana State and 0-2 (in two 1-0 road losses) to the powerful offense of Illinois State.  The difference this year is Loyola will face preseason conference favorite Illinois State at home on Sat., Oct. 11.  If the Ramblers can steal a victory against Indiana State for the third consecutive year in the conference opener at Terre Haute on Fri., Sept. 26, Loyola might be able to challenge for the conference title.

Here is the Ramblermania prediction for the 2014 MVC women’s soccer standings:

1. Illinois State
2. Loyola
3. Indiana State
4. Evansville
5. Missouri State
6. Northern Iowa
7. Drake

Loyola kicks off the regular season Fri., August 22 at Marquette in the Marquette Invitational. The first home match is Fri., Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. against Western Illinois.

Loyola brings back all but one top player from last season’s team that went 7-11 in conference and 13-18 overall.   The 2013 Ramblers—tied with Bradley for sixth in conference play—missed out on the MVC conference tournament because of a tie-breaker.

Last year’s team was new to the league and sophomore heavy.  After starting out 3-7 in conference play, the team finished out the season on an up note, winning four of their last eight matches—including a 3-0 road win at #5 Illinois State and forcing conference runner up Northern Iowa to a fifth set in Cedar Rapids.

In 2014, the Ramblers will benefit from returning all but one player, another year of experience, and having seen the rest of the league at least once.  Meanwhile, the top teams in the league have lost many players to graduation.  Defending champ Wichita State lost the top player in the league in hitting percentage and two others ranking in the top 20.  Missouri State lost three players in the top 25, including two in the top 10.  Southern Illinois lost two of the top players in kills.

Northern Iowa has been the powerhouse of the league for more than a decade under coach Bobbi Petersen.  She’s guided the Panthers to five regular season titles, seven conference tournament titles, and two NCAA Sweet 16 appearances– winning 20 or more matches in 12 of her 13 seasons as coach. The Panthers were undefeated in league play from 2009 to 2011, and even in somewhat of a rebuilding mode the past two seasons, they managed to go 15-3 in conference in both 2012 and 2013.  Like Loyola, the Panthers lose only one top player to graduation, and given their history, coaching advantage, and returning roster, they’re the easy projection to win the conference.

The Ramblers have a chance to make a big move with a junior-heavy team and a couple of seniors in the starting lineup.  The core of the 2014 Ramblers have been playing together for two years, and now have MVC experience.  And there’s no telling how much confidence Loyola’s women’s squad might have gained from the men’s volleyball team winning the National Championship in May.

Here’s the Ramblermania prediction for the 2014 MVC women’s volleyball standings:

1. Northern Iowa
2. Loyola
3. Southern Illinois
4. Missouri State
5. Illinois State
6. Bradley
7. Wichita State
8. Indiana State
9. Evansville
10. Drake

The 2014 women’s volleyball season begins August 29 with the Delaware Invitational Tournament in Newark, Del. The first home match is against the Missouri State at Gentile Arena on Fri., Sept. 26 at 7:00 p.m., but Chicago area fans can check out the Ramblers when they play in the Wildcat Challenge at Northwestern University on Fri. and Sat., Sept. 12 and 13.