For the second straight Horizon League game, Valparaiso came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision, falling to Loyola (Chicago) Sunday evening in Chicago, Ill.

The Ramblers got the match’s lone goal in the 19th minute when Chris Mills found Josh Westberg at the edge of the six-yard box.  Westberg took the ball and beat Crusader goalkeeper Ryan Schwarz (Rockford, Ill./Boylan Catholic) to the far post to give Loyola (3-5-2, 3-0-1 Horizon) the 1-0 edge.

Schwarz made a pair of first-half saves to maintain just the 1-0 deficit into halftime.  He then stopped three more shots after the break to keep the Ramblers off the scoreboard, but Valpo couldn’t crack the scoreboard, with its best effort coming early in the second half when Stefan Antonijevic (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson [College of Lake County/Marquette]) hit the post with a shot.

The Crusaders were unable to get a shot on goal during Sunday’s 90 minutes of action, as Loyola’s Peter McKeown earned the win without having to make a save.  Valpo tallied eight total shot attempts on the evening.  The Ramblers placed six shots on frame, with Schwarz making five saves in the losing effort.

Valparaiso (6-3-1, 1-3-0 Horizon) takes a step out of Horizon League play when it returns home to Brown Field for a Wednesday night showdown under the lights with former Mid-Continent Conference rival Western Illinois.  Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and all the action can be heard live on WVUR, 95.1 FM, Valparaiso and online at www.valpoathletics.com, which will also have a link for live stats.