Valparaiso (3-3-3, 1-0-1 Horizon)
Pair of Horizon League matches on tap for the Crusaders
Wednesday, Sept. 30 – 7:30 p.m. – UIC (2-7-1, 0-1-0 Horizon)
Saturday, Oct. 3 – 6 p.m. CT – at Oakland (2-5-4, 1-1-0 Horizon)
This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team faces a key week with a pair of Horizon League clashes. Coming off a big win at Youngstown State last weekend, the Crusaders will host UIC on Wednesday evening at Brown Field before traveling to Oakland for a Saturday night fixture.
Previously: Valpo put together one of the most prolific offensive matches in program history Saturday night at Youngstown State, bagging six goals in a 6-0 win over the Penguins. Freshman Cory Griffith scored a pair of goals for her first career multi-goal game, as the Crusaders scored twice in the first half and four times in the second half.
Following the Crusaders: Both of this week’s matches will be broadcast on ESPN3.com, while both will also have live stats available through ValpoAthletics.com. 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 69-48-27 record both overall and with Valpo in 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 (.573) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories, just nine wins shy of the top spot.
Series Notes: UIC – The Crusaders faced the Flames for the first time last season, as 2014 marked the inaugural campaign for UIC, and earned a 2-1 win in Chicago. April Cronin and Rita Craven netted goals for Valpo, with Craven’s coming as the match-winner in the 74th minute.
Oakland – A series which had been dormant since Valpo left the Mid-Con following the 2006 season resumed in 2013 as the Golden Grizzlies joined the Horizon League. Oakland holds an 8-5-1 edge in the all-time series, but Valpo has won three of the last four, including a 3-0 win at Brown Field last year. Craven tallied a pair of goals and Cronin added a goal as well in the win, while Sydney Galvez-Daley made four saves to earn the clean sheet.
Scouting the Opposition: UIC – The Flames enter Wednesday’s match at Brown Field with a 2-7-1 overall record on the year. UIC dropped its league opener last time out at Northern Kentucky, 2-0. The Flames have been outscored 21-6 on the year, with Olivia Everin scoring a pair of goals.
Oakland – The Golden Grizzlies are 2-5-4 on the season entering this week, with a mid-week showdown with Detroit prior to Saturday’s fixture. Oakland has won its last two matches, however, including a 2-0 win at Green Bay. Nine different players have combined for the Grizzlies’ 15 goals on the season, including three goals apiece from Joan Sieja and Cecilie Dokka.
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).
Lace Up For Pediatric Cancer: Wednesday night against UIC, the Crusaders will be wearing gold laces from the Go4TheGoal organization as a part of their 'Lace Up for Pediatric Cancer' campaign. Through this initiative, each set of laces is a $5 donation and all funds stay in the community where they are raised to support local children suffering from pediatric cancer. For more information, visit http://www.go4thegoal.org/ourstory.html.
Six Shooter for the Crusaders: After a trio of games which saw the Crusaders go wanting for goals despite numerous opportunities, Valpo broke through in a big way last Saturday, striking for six goals in the win at Youngstown State. The Crusaders scored twice in the first 45 minutes, and then took advantage of being a player up in the second half to score four more goals. The six goals marked the second-most goals in a single match in program history and the most since a six-goal performance against Lipscomb in 2005. In addition, the six-goal margin of victory also ties the second-largest in program history, matching a 6-0 win Valpo earned over UT-Martin in 2000.
Cronin Continues to Score: Junior April Cronin has continued her goal-scoring ways this year, most recently finding the back of the net for the eventual match-winner last time out at YSU 24 minutes in. Cronin leads the Crusaders and is tied for the league lead with five goals on the season. With 15 career goals, the junior is already tied for sixth in Valpo history.
Griffith Nets a Brace: Freshman Cory Griffith netted the first goal of her career back on Sept. 11 versus Eastern Washington, and apparently enjoyed it so much, she decided to see what it would be like to do it twice in one match. In Saturday’s win at YSU, Griffith scored in the 35th minute to push Valpo’s lead to 2-0, and then added the second half of her brace in the 57th minute of the win. Griffith is tied for the lead among Horizon League freshmen with three goals on the year, despite appearing in just four matches off the bench to date.
First Time For Everything: With six goals on the board in the win over the Penguins, it only stands to reason that at least one or two might have come from first-time goal scorers, and that was the case for the Crusaders. TCU transfer Michelle Mottonen scored in the 59th minute for her first goal at Valpo, and then junior Shelby Oelschlager netted her first collegiate goal in the 79th minute. In addition, sophomore Sydney Gountounas assisted on Griffith’s first goal for her first collegiate point.
Working Extra Time: While last time out, the Crusaders did plenty of work during the 90 minutes to ensure they would not have to play overtime, they’ve put in plenty of extra work over the first half of the season. Prior to the YSU fixture, Valpo had seen a program-record five consecutive matches go past 90 minutes. Starting with the game at Belmont on Sept. 4, each of the next five contests went into at least the second overtime period, with three lasting the full 110 minutes. Valpo, which went 1-1-3 in those five matches, had previously gone extra time in three straight fixtures on two occasions.
Academic Success: The Valparaiso women’s soccer team has been not only strong on the field, but also in the classroom in its history and has continued that tradition. Earlier this week, the Crusaders were awarded the NSCAA Team Academic Award, presented to programs with a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for the 2014-15 academic year, for the 13th consecutive year. Last year, Valpo posted a team GPA of 3.52.
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.
