Valparaiso began its two-match road trip on Sunday afternoon, battling Evansville to a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Black Beauty Field on a warm, breezy day in Evansville, Ind.

“Overall we would have loved to get a win today, but to get a tie on the road is something for us to build upon,” head coach John Marovich said.  “We played on Friday and had to travel while they have been idle since last weekend, so they came in as the fresh team today.”

The Crusaders struck first just over 10 minutes into the contest.  Sophomore Janine Lytle (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster H.S.) scored her first collegiate goal, poking home a loose ball following a scramble off of a corner kick from Amanda Ulin (Solon, Iowa/Solon H.S.) at the 10:06 mark. 

Evansville tied the match with 12:33 to play before halftime.  Dani Langness scored from the middle of the six-yard box after receiving a pass from Breanna Belne.

The Purple Aces outshot Valpo 6-5 in the opening 45 minutes.

“I liked the way we came out and played in the first half,” Marovich said.  “We really battled for the first 25-30 minutes.  In the second half we had our chances in the attacking third, unfortunately we were just a little bit off in terms of finishing.”

The second half was all Crusaders in terms of shot opportunities, but neither team was able to put a shot on frame.  Valpo held an 8-1 shot edge in the period, but could not find the back of the net and the two schools went into overtime knotted at one.

The Crusaders continued the offensive pressure throughout the two overtime sessions, but were unable to score the match-winning goal.  Valpo outshot Evansville 6-1 during the extra sessions, including 5-0 over the final 10 minutes, and finished the match with a 19-8 edge in shots.

Kristen Manski (Saint Charles, Ill./North H.S.) made two saves for the Crusaders between the posts while Chaviel Harrison made one stop for Evansville (0-2-1).

Valparaiso (2-0-1) will remain on the road on Friday evening as the Crusaders head to Fort Wayne, Ind. to battle IPFW.  Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CDT.

Match Notes: This was the second straight match Valpo scored a goal within the first 12 minutes … Ulin’s assist was her first collegiate point … Tara Ellis (Portage, Ind./Portage H.S.) made her collegiate  debut … Valpo went 1-1-1 in overtime matches in 2009 … the last Crusader draw came against Indiana State, a 3-3 deadlock on Oct. 9, 2009 … the 2-0-1 start in the best three-match start in program history … Evansville now leads the all-time series 6-2-1 between the two schools.