Boys’ soccer: Loyola’s sophomore sensation stops Wilson

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Loyola’s sophomore goalkeeper, John Bucknall, came up big in a big situation on Wednesday.

Bucknall, a sophomore, first kept his team in the game by stopping seven shots to send the game into penalty kicks. Then, the sophomore (did I mentioned he’s a sophomore already?) deflected two shots to help the Cubs beat Long Beach Wilson, 4-2, in penalty kicks.

Stopping one kick is hard. Stopping two, however? Wow. And for a sophomore to do that?

The game will only serve to speed Bucknall’s growth in the game. Not just for this year, but for the rest of his career at Loyola. If the Cubs make it to the finals for a sixth consecutive time, the team will point to this game and to Bucknall’s performance as huge reason why.

Next up for the Cubs is No. 1 seed Santa Margarita in a rematch of last year’s Division I championship game that ended in a draw. The match is at Santa Margarita at 3 p.m. on Friday.

-- Jaime Cardenas