Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Valparaiso University women’s soccer coach John Marovich has announced that the Crusaders will play seven matches over five different dates as part of the Brown and Gold’s spring schedule.

“I am really excited to get the spring season underway,” Marovich said.  “We have 21 players returning for next year which presents a great opportunity to get some quality match time against some difficult competition.”

The Crusaders will open the spring slate March 26 at Purdue before heading to Macomb, Ill. the following weekend for contests against host Western Illinois as well as Truman State.  Valpo will play at home for the first time April 10 at Brown Field with a pair of matches against Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) and Indianapolis.

On April 17 Valpo will host Bowling Green before closing out the spring schedule on April 20 at Northwestern.

“We are pleased to be able to play against two Big Ten schools in Purdue and Northwestern,” Marovich added.  “Purdue already has wins against Butler and Vanderbilt this spring.  Western Illinois and Bowling Green are both typically near the top of their respective conferences as Western Illinois finished second in the Summit League and advance to the tournament championship.  Finally, we are looking forward to hosting Saint Joseph’s and Indianapolis, both from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, one of the top Division Two conferences in the country.  This should be a great test for our group this spring.”

Complete Spring Schedule (All Times Central)

March 26              at Purdue (Mollenkopf Athletic Center)                          12 p.m.

April 3                    at Western Illinois                                                    1:45 p.m.

April 3                    vs. Truman State (Macomb, Ill.)                                 3:30 p.m.

April 10                  Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) (Brown Field)                              12 p.m.

April 10                  Indianapolis (Brown Field)                                          1:30 p.m.

April 17                  Bowling Green (Eastgate Field, weather permitting)     1 p.m.

April 20                  at Northwestern                                                          7 p.m.