Valparaiso University rising senior April Cronin will compete for the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL) national championship this weekend with the Chicago Red Star Reserves, capping off a summer where she has featured as one of the top attackers for the squad.

Cronin has helped lead the Reserves to an unbeaten record as they enter the national semifinals this weekend. The Reserves went 7-0-1 in the regular season to top the Heartland, and then defeated the Dayton Dutch Lions (4-0) and FC Dallas (4-3) last weekend to advance to the final four teams standing for the WPSL title. Through the side’s first seven games of the season, Cronin ranked second on the team with four goals and three assists.

The Red Stars Reserves will take to the pitch for semifinal action on Saturday afternoon, facing off against the Boston Breakers Reserves at 1 p.m. CT in Columbus, Ohio. With a victory on Saturday, they would advance to the WPSL championship match on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. CT.

Cronin is looking to use a strong summer campaign to propel herself into her senior year as a Crusader. Coming off a junior season in which she led Valpo with seven goals and 17 points, Cronin enters her final year with 17 career goals and 40 career points, just four goals and 12 points shy of second place in program history in the respective categories.