The Valpo women’s soccer team kicked off its spring 2021 conference schedule on Sunday afternoon in Carbondale, Ill., battling host Southern Illinois to a scoreless double-overtime draw.

How It Happened

• The first 45 minutes featured just three shot attempts for each side, with Valpo goalkeeper Nikki Coryell (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) saving the only shot on goal for either team in the first half.
• Valpo turned up the pressure on the Salukis in the second half, out-shooting SIU 6-2 over the second 45 minutes. Saluki netminder Maddy Alaluf stopped two shots on frame in the second half, while senior Keegan Maris (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) had a quality chance go just wide in the 68^th minute and sophomore Nicole Norfolk (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels) sent a volley go barely wide off an indirect free kick in the 85^th
• The teams combined for just three shots in extra time, two of which were on goal. Valpo placed a shot on goal in the 92^nd minute and SIU had a shot on frame in the 109^th minute, both of which were stopped by the opposing goalkeeper.

Inside the Match

• Valpo opened conference play by gaining a point for the first time since the 2017 season.
• Valpo has played to 0-0 draws in two of its last three matches for the first time since the 2014 team finished nil-nil against IUPUI and Northern Arizona in a three-match stretch early in the season.
• Coryell made two saves to earn the second clean sheet of her rookie season.
• Valpo finished the match with an 11-6 edge in shots. SIU took four of the match’s six corner kicks.
• Valpo has not won a match in overtime since a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois on Sept. 1, 2017. Since then, Valpo is 0-3-6 in matches which have gone beyond 90 minutes.
• Norfolk and fellow sophomore Kiley Dugan (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) both started their 22^nd consecutive match on Sunday and both played all 110 minutes — in the process extending Norfolk’s consecutive minutes played streak to 2,059 straight minutes.
• Maris also played all 110 minutes as she and Norfolk are the only two field players who have played every minute so far this year.

Thoughts From Coach Marovich

“Every Valley contest is just a battle. Today, being on the road for first conference game, we came away with a point, and you'll take any road points you can get within conference play. I’m happy we were able to get the point and come out of the match without any injuries.”

“It was hard for us to gather a rhythm today. Whether playing out of the back or advancing in the attacking third, we would start to have a rhythm and then SIU would break it. We had a hard time sustaining the rhythm we wanted, and it resulted in our end product in the attacking third not being smooth.”

“We're going to continue to work on our game. The one thing about this group is they’re always battling and competing, and each week we're finding improvements. For us right now, it's coming down to the final third and finding ways to finish moves.”

Next Up

Valpo (1-1-2, 0-0-1 MVC) kicks off a stretch of three straight home matches on Brown Field next Tuesday, March 9 as it hosts Indiana State at 2 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on The Valley on ESPN.