Valparaiso (7-6-2, 3-2 Horizon)
Match #16: Wednesday, Oct. 19, 3 p.m. CDT
vs. Butler (7-7-1, 2-3 Horizon)
Eastgate Field - Valparaiso, Ind.
Match #17 : Sunday, Oct. 23, 1 p.m. CDT
vs. Wright State (7-6-2, 2-2-1 Horizon)
Eastgate Field - Valparaiso, Ind.
This Week in Crusader Soccer: Valparaiso will close out the home portion of the 2011 regular season with a pair of key Horizon League matches this week. On Wednesday the Crusaders will entertain Butler at Eastgate Field before the Brown and Gold hosts Wright State on Sunday in a Senior Day matinee.
On the Air: Both Wednesday’s match against Butler and Sunday’s contest against Wright State will be broadcast live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) as well as online at valpoathletics.com. Live stats will be available through valpoathletics.com for both matches as well.
Head Coach John Marovich: John Marovich holds a 33-29-11 record both overall and with Valpo in his fourth season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich has the best winning percentage (.527) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories.
Series Notes: Butler leads the all-time series with Valparaiso 6-2 dating back to the 1997 season. The Crusaders have won the last two meetings between the two Hoosier State rivals though, including a 1-0 victory in Indianapolis last season. The Brown and Gold is 1-3 all-time against the Bulldogs in Valparaiso. Wright State holds an 8-1 all-time advantage against Valpo dating back to 1993 and won last year’s meeting 1-0 at Eastgate Field. The Crusaders’ lone triumph in the series came in the 2009 Horizon League semifinals, a 1-0 win over the Raiders. Valpo is 0-4 all-time against Wright State at home.
Wrapping Up Last Week’s Action: Alyssa Korson scored in the 30th minute and Kaitlyn Quarrell added an insurance tally in the 58th minute as Detroit notched a 2-0 shutout victory over the Crusaders on a windy Sunday afternoon in Detroit. Kristen Manski made three saves for the Crusaders in the loss.
Scouting Butler: The Bulldogs have dropped two straight conference matches following a 4-1 setback to #12 Milwaukee on Sunday at home. Butler is led offensively by Elise Kotsakis and Katie Griswold, both of whom have scored five goals. Kotsakis has added two assists for a team-leading 12 points. In goal, Natalie Galovska has a 1.28 goals against average and a .683 save percentage.
Scouting Wright State: The Raiders have won two straight matches after earning a 2-1 win over Loyola (Chicago) on Sunday at home. Brittany Persaud leads the Raiders with 15 points, scoring four goals and adding seven assists for 15 total points. Bekah Bonny has tallied a team-leading five goals. Between the posts, Brooke McCurdy sports a 1.32 GAA and a .791 save percentage.
Crusaders Need Three Points to Clinch Tournament Berth: Valpo enters the week needing just one win over its final three matches of the season to secure a berth in the Horizon League Championships which begin Nov. 1 on campus sites. The Crusaders currently have nine points with three victories, and there are three schools that can only get to a maximum point total of 11 for the season.
Playing for Seeding as Well: Besides just looking to secure a berth in the conference tournament, Valpo is looking to boost its seeding. The Crusaders are currently in third place, with the top two teams earning byes directly into the semifinals. Even if Valpo is unable to earn a bye, by finishing third or fourth, the Brown and Gold will host a quarterfinal game on Nov. 1.
Thanks Seniors: Seven Crusader seniors will be participating in their final home regular season matches of their careers this weekend. Tracy Roos, Laura Romberg, Sammy Olson, Mikki Nuccio, Casey Pedersen, Becky Clever, and Brooke Henderson will all be honored for their contributions to Valpo soccer prior to Sunday’s match against Wright State.
Seven Shutouts Fourth Most Ever: With Valpo’s seventh shutout of the season on Oct. 9 against Cleveland State, the Crusaders have registered the fourth most clean sheets as a team in a single season in program history. The 2007 and 2009 squads each shut out eight opponents while the 2008 team set the school mark with 10 clean sheets.
Lots of Contributors on This Team: Valparaiso has had 14 different players register at least one point this season offensively. The Brown and Gold has had eight different goal scorers and 11 different player dish out at least one assist.
Scoring Early Key to Valpo’s Success: Valparaiso is a perfect 5-0 this season when taking the lead into intermission. The Crusaders are also 7-1-1 on the year when scoring the match’s first goal.
Pencil Them in the Lineup: Tracy Roos has started all 73 matches during her four year career with the Brown and Gold on the backline. Fellow defender Janine Lytle has also started all 54 matches since she joined the program prior to the 2009 season. This season the duo has been joined by Amanda Ulin and Laura Romberg, each of whom has started every game in the back as well. Romberg and Roos have played every minute this season.
Keeping Them Clean: Kristen Manski has passed Amy Cavanaugh (1996-1999) and moved into third place with 10 career clean sheets in a Crusader uniform. In addition, Manski’s five shutouts this season have her tied for fifth on the team’s single season charts. Her next shutout this season will move her into a tie for third on the single season charts with Erin Murray (both 2004 and 2007).
Hoaglin on the All-Time Scoring Charts: Rachel Hoaglin has moved into a seventh place alone on Valpo’s career scoring list. Hoaglin has 36 points during her three-year Crusader career, tied with Elizabeth Tatro (1993-1996) for fifth on the career list. She is four points shy of Lisa Springs (1998-2001) for fourth on the all-time charts.
More Scoring: Rachel Hoaglin has scored 14 goals, tied with Sarah Jewell (2006-2009) for sixth on the all-time charts, one goal behind Elizabeth Tatro (1993-1996) for fifth place. She has also registered eight career assists, tied with Lori Johnson (2005-2008), Laura Murphy (2005-2008), and Jesse White (2006-2009) for ninth on the all-time charts.
Desario in the Record Books Too: Luisa Desario has scored 12 goals, tied with Lori Johnson (2005-2008) for ninth all-time at Valpo. Desario is also one assist shy of the all-time list with seven career helpers, trailing Lori Johnson (2005-2008), Laura Murphy (2005-2008), Jesse White (2006-2009) and current teammate Rachel Hoaglin for ninth place. The trio all had eight assists. Desario also needs just one more point to move into the top-10 all-time. She enters the weekend with 31 career points.
More Record Book Watching with Desario: Luisa Desario has moved into the top-five in school history with 148 career shot attempts, passing Lisa Springs (1998-2001). Desario is 17 shots behind Elizabeth Tatro (1993-1996) for fourth on the all-time charts. Desario is also tied for eighth on the all-time list with five match-winning goals in her career after recording her most recent one at Loyola (Chicago).
All-Tournament Team Accolades: Valparaiso had three players named to the Crusader Classic All-Tournament Team in September. Goalkeeper Kristen Manski, who posted a shutout against Air Force, defender Tracy Roos, and midfielder Luisa Desario each earned the honors following the tournament.
Hoaglin Named Horizon League Player of the Week: Rachel Hoaglin earned the first Horizon League Player of the Week honor of her career on Sept. 19 after scoring a pair of match-winning goals for the Crusaders against Green Bay and Bowling Green.
Team Captains: Valpo has co-captains for the 2011 season. Senior Tracy Roos has been named a team captain for the third straight season and will be joined in that role by classmate Brooke Henderson.
Crusaders Picked Seventh in Preseason Poll: The head coaches selected Valparaiso to finish seventh in the Horizon League this season according to the preseason poll. The Crusaders finished tied for seventh in the regular season a year ago with a 5-8-5 overall record and a 1-5-2 mark in league play.
This and That: Valpo has tied its last five overtime contests dating back to last season ... all-time the Crusaders are 14-15-27 in extra session matches ... the Crusaders were held to just three shot attempts at Detroit, its lowest output of the season ... Valpo is 5-0-3 in Senior Day matches dating back to 2003.
