Valparaiso (2-2-1, 0-0-0 Horizon)

Crusaders face final pair of tune-ups before start of league play

Friday, Sept. 11 – 7:30 p.m. – Eastern Washington (3-1-1, 0-0-0 Big Sky)

Sunday, Sept. 13 - 1 p.m. – Bowling Green (3-2-0, 0-0-0 MAC)

This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso women’s soccer team opens the 2015 home campaign this weekend with its final two matches before the start of Horizon League action. The Crusaders will host Eastern Washington Friday night before taking on Bowling Green Sunday afternoon.

Previously: Valpo went 1-0-1 last weekend on the road, closing out a five-match road stretch to open the 2015 season. The Crusaders started the weekend with a 2-1 victory in double overtime at Belmont before heading to Western Kentucky and dueling to a 2-2 draw with the Hilltoppers.

Following the Crusaders: Both matches this weekend will have live stats available through ValpoAthletics.com. Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, while both contests will air on WVUR. Over the course of the 2015 season, seven home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, while WVUR, Valpo’s student radio station, will also be broadcasting select matches.

Head Coach John Marovich: The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year, John Marovich holds a 68-47-25 record both overall and with Valpo entering his eighth season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich has the best winning percentage (.575) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories, just 10 wins shy of the top spot.

Series Notes: Valpo and Eastern Washington have never met on the pitch. The Crusaders have faced BGSU on five occasions, with the Falcons owning a 3-2-0 edge in the all-time series. Valpo has won the last two meetings, however, including most recently a 3-0 win at Eastgate Field on Sept. 9, 2012.

Scouting the Opposition: Eastern Washington – The Eagles enter Brown Field Friday night with a 3-1-1 record on the season and most recently downed Idaho on Monday, 2-1. Chloe Williams has scored three of EWU’s seven goals on the year, while Mallory Taylor has seen most of the action at goalkeeper and has posted a 1.14 GAA.

Bowling Green – The Falcons are 3-2-0 this year and play at Eastern Illinois on Friday before coming to Valpo Sunday afternoon. Six different players have found of the back of the net so far for BGSU, led by three goals from Mikaela Couch.

Crusaders Picked Atop Preseason Poll: The Crusaders were a unanimous choice to repeat atop the league table in 2015, according to preseason polling of the league’s head coaches. Valpo received all nine possible first-place votes, as head coaches were not allowed to rank their own team, to finish with 81 points. Oakland received the remaining first-place vote and was ranked second with 63 points, narrowly edging out Detroit with 60 points.

Looking Back at 2014: Last season’s Crusader squad was a record-setting side across the board, posting a 14-2-4 record, their 10th winning campaign in the last 11 years. The 14 wins marked a new program record, and the team set new marks for winning streak (12 matches) and unbeaten streak (18 matches) as well. The 2014 Valpo side became just the third squad in Horizon League history to post a perfect 8-0-0 record in regular season league play, as the Crusaders swept through the regular season and the tournament as well. Defensively, the squad set a new program best, surrendering just nine goals, while Sydney Galvez-Daley set new individual records for shutouts (12), wins (14) and GAA (0.43).

Scoring Over and Over Again: Both senior Rita Craven and junior April Cronin have scored goals in three consecutive games for the Crusaders, as the duo was responsible for both of Valpo’s goals in the two games last weekend. Craven is now just two goals shy of Valpo’s all-time top-10, as she has scored 11 career goals, eight of which have been match-winners – second-most in Crusader history. Meanwhile, dating back to last year, Cronin has scored in 12 of Valpo’s last 18 matches. The junior now owns 13 career goals, tied for ninth-most in program history.

Just Like Riding a Bike: Following offseason surgery, junior goalkeeper Sydney Galvez-Daley missed the opening weekend of the season while continuing to recuperate. But returning between the posts for the Crusaders, Galvez-Daley picked right up where she left off in 2014, securing the clean sheet in Valpo's win over Miami (Ohio) in her season debut. Through three games this season, Galvez-Daley is 2-0-1 with a 0.90 GAA. For her career, the junior now owns a 16-2-5 career record with 13 shutouts - third-most in program history - a 0.49 GAA, and an .882 save percentage.

Back On the Home Turf: The friendly confines of Brown Field will be a welcome sight for the Crusaders this weekend, as they started the season with a five-match road stretch – the longest string of matches away from home to start a season in program history. Since moving to Brown Field full-time prior to the 2013 season, Valpo owns a 14-2-4 record at home and is 23-6-6 all-time on the artificial surface of Brown Field.

Craven Back For More: Senior midfielder Rita Craven returns for her final season already the most decorated player in program history. Craven was named as one of 28 players to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the first Crusader ever to earn a spot on the watch list for collegiate soccer’s most prestigious award. Last year, Craven became the first player in Valpo history to earn All-American honors, as she was named an NSCAA Third Team All-American. In addition, she was an NSCAA First Team Scholar All-American, as well as the Horizon League’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.

More Honorees Return: Craven is far from the only player to receive honors for her work last season returning in 2015 for Valpo, however. All four of the Crusaders’ NSCAA All-Region honorees are back this year, as senior Jenny Fassbinder and juniors Cronin and Shelby Oelschlager were all Second Team All-Region choices. Both Fassbinder and Oelschlager started all 20 games on defense last year, while Cronin led the Crusaders with nine goals scored. Galvez-Daley is back as well, a Second Team All-League pick by the league and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as chosen by College Sports Madness, while Vanesa Abad (6 goals, 1 assist) returns for her sophomore season after being named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last year. In addition, Morgan Manzke – the 2013 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year – returns as well after using last season as an injury redshirt year.

Roster Breakdown: This year’s Crusader squad brings back 18 players from last season’s roster, 16 of whom saw action last year and eight of whom were regular starters. In addition, nine newcomers – one transfer and eight freshmen – join the fray as well.