Valparaiso (4-4-3, 2-1-1 Horizon)

Crusaders return home to Brown Field for pair of matches

Friday, Oct. 9 – 7 p.m. – Northern Kentucky (7-3-0, 3-0-0 Horizon)

Sunday, Oct. 11 – 1 p.m. – Loyola (6-5-3, 1-1-1 MVC)

This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team returns home to Brown Field for a pair of matches this weekend. The Crusaders host Northern Kentucky in a key Horizon League battle Friday night, and then turn around to take on Loyola on Sunday afternoon. During warmups prior to Friday’s game, the Crusaders will be wearing purple shirts in support of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, while Sunday’s game will serve as the team’s Senior Day.

Previously: Valpo split a pair of Horizon League matches last week. The Crusaders took three points in a mid-week match at home against UIC, dominating the Flames in the second half for a 3-1 win. But Valpo was unable to claim any points Saturday night on the road at Oakland, surrendering a one-goal lead in an eventual 3-1 loss – the Crusaders’ first Horizon League loss since October of 2013.

Following the Crusaders: Sunday’s match will be broadcast on ESPN3.com, while both will be carried by WVUR and 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 70-49-27 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 (.572) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories, just nine wins shy of the top spot.

Series Notes: The Crusaders have never faced Northern Kentucky, which is in its first season as a Horizon League member, on the pitch. Loyola holds a 15-6-1 advantage in the all-time series against Valpo, but the Crusaders are 2-1-1 in the last four meetings, including a 2-1 victory last October on Brown Field. Goals within two minutes midway through the first half from April Cronin and Kristen Warner stood up for the Crusaders in that victory.

Scouting the Opposition: Northern Kentucky – The Norse have yet to drop a point in Horizon League play, entering Brown Field with a 3-0-0 record in league action and a 7-3-0 mark overall. NKU won last time out at Detroit, 3-1. The Norse have out-scored their opponents this season, 23-8, and feature a balanced attack as 11 different players have scored goals – led by Macy Hamblin (4g, 5a) and Jessica Frey (4g, 4a).

Loyola – The Ramblers come to Valpo at 6-5-3 this season and 1-1-1 in Missouri Valley play, most recently falling to UIC, 3-2. Jessica Szczesny has led the Loyola offense with four goals and three assists, while Maddie Ford has seen the majority of time in goal and owns a 1.06 GAA with six shutouts.

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).

Glance at the Table: As the Horizon League slate hits the halfway mark for the Crusaders, a look at the league standings shows things starting to separate a bit. Three teams (Milwaukee [4 games], Cleveland State [3] and Northern Kentucky [3]) have yet to drop a point in league play, while three others (UIC [3], Youngstown State [4] and Green Bay [4]) have not yet earned a point. The Crusaders are currently tied for fourth position with seven points through four games, but with games remaining against each of the current top three, have ample opportunity to move up the table.

Chances Galore: Against UIC last Wednesday, the Crusaders posted 20 shot attempts for the third straight game and finished with double-figure shots on goal for the fifth straight match, scoring three times on 12 shots on goal. In fact, when Valpo finished level with Oakland on shot attempts last time out with nine apiece, it was the first time since Aug. 28 at Miami that the Crusaders have not outshot their opponent. On the season, Valpo has attempted 40 more shots (169-129) than its opponents and has placed 58% of its attempts on goal to opponents’ 45%.

First-Time Goal Scorers: While for much of the season, senior Rita Craven and junior April Cronin have been leading the Valpo offense, last week saw some new goal scorers step up, as all four goals last week were scored by first-time goal scorers this season. Senior Jenny Fassbinder opened the scoring in the win over UIC with her first goal since October of 2013. Vanesa Abad scored the eventual match-winner in the second half versus the Flames, while Jordon Tindell put the game away with her first career goal late. Then, at Oakland last time out, redshirt sophomore Morgan Manzke put the Crusaders on top early with the second goal of her career and her first in nearly two years.

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 at Youngstown State, striking for six goals. 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.

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.