Men's soccer head coach Dermot McGrane and the Purple Eagles look to regroup in the MAAC Tournament Thursday.

BALTIMORE, Md. – In the final game of the 2003 regular season, the Niagara University men’s soccer team (4-11-2, 4-4-1) lost to Loyola College (9-6-3, 6-2-1), 4-0, Saturday at Curley Field on the Loyola campus.

Ending a three-game unbeaten streak, the Purple Eagles fell behind Loyola early in the contest and were unable to penetrate the Greyhound defense throughout the game, taking only five shots in the contest. In nine Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games, the Greyhounds lead the conference in goals with 22, showing their scoring prowess with four goals against the Purple Eagles Saturday.

"Loyola came out and played extremely well," Niagara head coach Dermot McGrane said. "It’s easy to see why they’re in the hunt for the MAAC regular-season title."

Just two minutes into the game, Greyhound forward Omar Alfonso scored his first of two goals in the contest, taking a pass from teammate Jay Joyce and hitting a one-touch shot past Niagara goalkeeper Dan O’Shea (East Syracuse, N.Y.). Alfonso, MAAC-leading scorer with 15 goals and 4 assists for 34 points, tallied his second goal of the game just 10 minutes later in the 12th minute and put the Purple Eagles behind, 2-0, early.

In the 52nd minute, Loyola midfielder John Dalziel scored to give the Greyhounds a commanding 3-0 lead. Greyhound forward Kevin Nash added an insurance goal in the 69th minute, taking a pass from Alfonso and hitting the ball into the Niagara net.

In the game, Loyola outshot Niagara, 21-5, led by four shots by Alfonso. Greyhound goalkeeper Justin Chelland made one save for fourth shutout of the season. O’Shea made 10 saves for the Purple Eagles.

With Saturday’s shutout, their sixth of the season, the Greyhounds have allowed only six goals in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference games, tied for first in the conference with Fairfield University in goals allowed.

Niagara looks to regroup when it travels to the MAAC Championships at Walt Disney World Thursday. Regardless of Saturday’s loss, the Purple Eagles secured a first-round bye in the MAAC Championships by finishing in the top six teams in the MAAC standings, a feat not forgotten by McGrane.

"Although not happy with the team’s performance Saturday, we secured a spot in the top six teams and accomplished our goal of a first-round bye in the MAAC Tournament," McGrane said.