Valparaiso fell behind early on Saturday afternoon and was unable to rally at Titan Field in Detroit, Mich., dropping a 2-0 Horizon League contest to Detroit.
The Crusaders managed just three shots on the afternoon, with an attempt by Trisha Wladecki (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.) the only attempt that was on frame on a windy afternoon.
“It was very difficult conditions to play in with the wind today,” head coach John Marovich said after the match. “We didn’t handle the situation very well. We gave away a goal early and had to chase the game the rest of the way.”
The Titans found the back of the net just under 30 minutes into the contest as Alyssa Korson tapped in a rebound that hit off of the cross bar on a shot by Alyssa Riley, and took the 1-0 lead into halftime.
Detroit (12-4-1, 5-1 Horizon) added its insurance tally at the 57:44 mark as Kaitlyn Quarrell scored on a one-on-one move after Kristen Manski (Saint Charles, Ill./North H.S.) got her hands the ball, but it trickled into the goal. Riley picked up her second assist of the match on the goal.
The Titans finished the match outshooting Valpo 9-3 with Manski making three stops while Detroit netminder Nora Abolins saving one attempt to earn the shutout.
“We need to take what we learned from today’s match and move forward,” Marovich concluded. “We have a couple of big matches coming up this week.”
Valparaiso (7-6-2, 3-2) will begin its final homestand of the season on Wednesday afternoon, hosting Butler at Eastgate Field. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.
Match Notes: Detroit leads the all-time series 6-2 and has won two straight meetings between the two schools … Korson’s tally was just the fourth goal the Crusaders have allowed in the first half all season.