Loyola soccer coach Emmy Therrell said that she was disappointed but not discouraged after the team lost its last two games.

Mississippi College defeated the ‘Pack 5-0 on Sept. 11, and Loyola also dropped a 3-2 overtime match to Austin College the next day. Both games were played at Rhodes College in Nashville, Tenn. Despite falling to 2-4 for the year, Therrell said she saw many positives in her team’s play that she feels bodes well for the rest of the season.

“Mississippi College is a very strong program, and we knew that going in,” Therrell said. “Our players realized that there were many moments in the game where we looked like we could come back.”

Therrell said she was especially encouraged because, while Loyola has never beaten Mississippi College, this team was able to compete with them for most of the game and put pressure on the opposition to make plays.

“They certainly won the game, but the score certainly did not reflect the quality of our play,” she said.

The second game was a tougher pill for Therrell and her players to swallow, an overtime loss despite two goals from general studies sophomore Lindsay Diak.

“It was a very exciting game; momentum swung both ways,” Therrell said. “On the final goal, we had a mental lapse and that’s all it took. You hate to lose in overtime like that, because it’s one goal by the opponent, and that’s the game.”

The team was scheduled to play Huntington College last Sunday at the Westfeldt Facility on Tulane’s campus, but evacuation due to Hurricane Ivan postponed the game. No makeup date has been announced.

The team travels to Mobile, Ala. to face the University of Mobile at 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Ryan Arena can be reached at [email protected]