The Valpo soccer season saw its 2021 spring campaign finish just short of the ultimate goal Sunday in Chicago, Ill., as top-seeded Loyola made a 35^th-minute goal stand up for a 1-0 final in the title match of the MVC Championship. Senior Keegan Maris (Batavia, Ill./Batavia), freshman Lindsey Dusatko (Plainfield, Ill./North) and freshman Nikki Coryell (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) represented the Brown and Gold on the All-Tournament Team, while Maris also was honored as the winner of the Elite 17 Award.

How It Happened

• Valpo had a solid push forward in the 10^th minute, as senior Tahelah Noel (Buffalo, N.Y./Christian Central Academy) got to the end line and put a cross into the box for a shot from sophomore Natalie Graf (Williamsburg, Mich./St. Francis), but Graf’s effort was saved by Loyola goalkeeper Grace Droessler.
• Coryell was up to the task on a flurry from Loyola in the 29^th minute, as the Ramblers had a pair of close-range efforts off of a corner kick that she turned away.
• Loyola got on the board in the 35^th Megan Nemec’s original shot hit the crossbar and caromed off to the foot of Freya Glen, who knocked it inside the left post from eight yards out.
• Valpo had a pair of long-range efforts on frame in the final minutes of the first half that were stopped by Droessler as the match went into halftime with a 1-0 scoreline.
• Coryell made a strong diving save on a shot from distance from Loyola’s Jenna Ross in the 53^rd minute to keep it a one-goal game.
• Valpo earned a corner kick in the 72^nd minute which was cleared out of the box by the Loyola defense. After regaining possession, the Brown and Gold got the ball to Alexis Gaffney (Broomfield, Colo./Legacy) at the top of the box, but her shot was blocked by a Loyola defender.
• Gaffney’s shot proved to be the last of the match for Valpo as the Ramblers saw out the win.

Inside the Match

• Valpo was making its first appearance in the title match of the MVC Championship since joining the conference. Valpo’s last title match came in the Horizon League in 2014.
• Valpo fell to Loyola by a 1-0 final for the second time this season, as the Ramblers won by the same scoreline at Brown Field.
• The Ramblers’ goal late in the first half snapped the Valpo defense’s shutout streak at 347 consecutive minutes, dating back to April 3.
• Loyola finished the match with a 19-6 advantage in shots and put six on goal to Valpo’s three. Coryell made five saves while limiting the Ramblers to the one goal.

Inside the Honors

• Maris earned the MVC’s Elite 17 Award, an honor modeled after the NCAA Elite 90 Academic Recognition Award Program and which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing at the finals site at each of the MVC’s championships. Maris currently has a perfect 4.00 GPA as a nursing major.
• Maris also was one of Valpo’s three All-Tournament Team honorees after playing all 309 minutes of the tournament at left back as part of a defensive unit which surrendered just one goal in three matches.
• Coryell earned All-Tournament Team accolades as she made 13 saves over the three tournament matches and posted a pair of clean sheets, while Dusatko received the award for a tournament which was highlighted by her golden goal at Indiana State in the semifinals.

Inside the Season

• Valpo closes the spring 2021 campaign with a 5-4-5 record, its first season above .500 since the 2014 season.
• As a team, Valpo surrendered the fewest goals in a single season in program history (8) and posted a 0.52 GAA, third-best in a single season.
• Coryell’s 0.52 GAA ranks second on Valpo’s individual single-season chart, while her .881 save percentage is also second-best in program history.
• Valpo surrendered more than one goal just once in 14 matches and had just one contest (2-0 regular season win over Indiana State) decided by more than one goal.