CARY, N.C. – The No. 9 Loyola Marymount University Lions (6-0-3) saw their 2021 season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling in penalty kicks 3-1 to No. 19 Marquette.
 
The Lions made back-to-back appearances in the NCAAs and opened the tournament as champions of the West Coast Conference. Head Coach Paul Krumpe guided the Lions into the postseason for the eighth time and was looking for his first win in the NCAAs since the 2004 season.
 
LMU was dominant throughout the match and had the advantage over Marquette in every offensive category. The Lions outshot the Golden Eagles 22-9, had the edge in shots on goal at 7-2, and more than doubled Marquette in corner kicks at 13-6.
 
The Lions opened up the match aggressive on the offensive end with Ronaldo Brown putting up a shot in the 2nd minute followed by Duhaney Williams' shot on goal in the 4th minute.
 
LMU tested the Golden Eagles keeper throughout the first half and had a barrage of corner kicks but couldn't get any of those opportunities to go into the back of the net midway through the game.
 
After the first 45 minutes were done the Lions had the advantage in shots 11-2 but the score remained at nil with the second half yet to be played.
 
At the start of the second half the Lions got a quick shot on goal from Alex Liu in the 46th minute to pick up right where they left off but the keeper was able to make the save to his bottom right.
 
LMU continued to pin Marquette on their heels and in the 66th minute Noel Caliskan had his ball go straight for the top of the net but it was punched away by Marquette.
 
Jacob Jackson was stellar between the pipes yet again for LMU and the defense didn't allow Marquette many chances to put together offensive opportunities.
 
Jackson, along with Dylan Shockey, Nick Dauhot, and Gerardo Lopez silenced the Golden Eagles offense throughout the match.
 
In the 88th minute the Lions had a 2-on-1 opportunity to break the scoreless tie but an offsides flag was raised and when 90 minutes were played the teams headed into overtime.
 
In the first overtime Jackson made a stellar save in the 100th minute, smothering the ball in the bottom right and after 10 minutes both schools were headed to a second overtime period.
 
Bastien Oberli had a chance for the golden goal in the 107th minute with his shot inside the box but it was turned away. His ball was headed for the bottom right of the net but was saved by Marquette's keeper and after 110 minutes the game would head to penalty kicks.
 
Marquette opened up the penalty shootout with three straight successful kicks. Mitchell Wilson was inserted into the game for Jackson in the pk phase. Shockey converted LMU's penalty in the third round and Mitchell turned away Marquette in the fourth round setting up Brown to keep the Lions alive. His shot missed wide to the right and with that the Lions fell to the Golden Eagles 3-1.
 
The Lions come off their most successful season since 2013 when they made the NCAA Tournament and look to capitalize on this year's success for multiple seasons in the future.