Valparaiso (2-0-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
Thursday, Aug. 24 - at Purdue (1-1-0) - 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, Aug. 27 - at Kentucky (1-0-0) - noon CT
Next Up in Valpo Soccer: After starting the 2023 campaign with a pair of victories on opening weekend, the Valpo soccer team hits the road for the first time in the regular season to take on a pair of Power Five foes. The road trip starts Thursday evening at Purdue before continuing on to Kentucky Sunday afternoon.
Previously: The Beacons opened the 2023 season on Brown Field last Thursday evening with a 2-1 win over Eastern Illinois, followed up by a 1-0 victory against Northern Illinois on Sunday. Allie Anderson was involved in all three goals on the weekend, scoring the match-winner in the season opener and tallying assists on the other two goals.
Looking Ahead: Valpo returns home briefly next Thursday to match up against Chicago State before heading off to start a stretch of five consecutive matches away from home on Sunday, Sept. 3 at Purdue Fort Wayne.
Following the Beacons: Thursday’s match at Purdue will be broadcast on BTN+, while Sunday’s fixture at Kentucky will be on SEC Network+. Links for the live video and live stats can be found at ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach John Marovich: In his 16th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 123-112-42 record both overall and at Valpo as a head coach. The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year and the head of the 2022 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year, Marovich holds Valpo’s all-time records for both victories and winning percentage.
Series Notes: Purdue - The Boilermakers have won all four meetings in the all-time series between the two sides. Thursday marks the first matchup since Sept. 5, 2009, however - a 1-0 Purdue win in West Lafayette. Mele Cabral made 15 saves in goal for Valpo in that contest.
Kentucky - The Wildcats are 2-0-0 all-time against Valpo, but those two meetings came in 1993 and 1994 - Valpo’s first two seasons of varsity soccer.
Scouting the Opposition: Purdue - The Boilermakers went 1-1-0 on opening weekend, falling 1-0 to #24 UCF and rebounding with an 8-0 win over Iona. Purdue, which posted a 3-11-3 record last season, was picked to finish in 12th place in the Big Ten this season.
Kentucky - In their lone match on opening weekend, the Wildcats earned a 1-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky - they will face off with fellow MVC side Murray State Thursday evening prior to Sunday’s contest. Coming off a 7-9-2 record in 2022, Kentucky was chosen to finish 12th in the SEC this season.
Valpo Picked Second in Preseason Poll: The Beacons were chosen to finish in second place in preseason polling of the MVC head coaches. Valpo, which picked up one first-place vote and tallied 107 points in the polling, trailed only Missouri State in the voting. The Beacons far outpaced third-place UIC, which totaled 92 points. Notably, the program has matched or surpassed its preseason projection in each of its first six seasons in the Valley.
Quartet of Preseason Honorees: Plenty of individual standouts have helped Valpo get to the point where it is regarded as one of the Valley’s top programs, and four of them were honored with preseason All-MVC accolades. Fifth-year Nicole Norfolk joined seniors Lindsey DuSatko and Nikki Coryell as preseason First Team All-MVC selections, while junior Addy Joiner picked up Honorable Mention accolades.
Looking Back at Last Season: Valpo’s journey up the MVC table over the last few years culminated last season with a dramatic final day of the regular season which saw the Beacons emerge with the MVC regular season championship - Valpo’s first team title in any sport since joining the Valley. The Beacons finished the season with an 8-7-4 overall record, including a 7-1-2 mark in MVC action to claim the regular season crown. Nikki Coryell was named MVC Goalkeeper of the Year for a third straight season, while John Marovich, Brianne Barnes and Noah Smith were honored as the Valley Coaching Staff of the Year. Nicole Norfolk was named a Third Team All-Region honoree as well.
Regular Season Champions: Trailing by two points entering the final match day, Valpo needed a win and some help to earn the 2022 MVC regular season title, and got both. Molly O’Rear’s goal in the 36th minute against Indiana State not only gave the Beacons a lead they would not surrender, it put Valpo atop the live conference table for good, as Illinois State led Missouri State at that point, 2-0, en route to a 4-2 win. For Valpo, it was the program’s fourth regular season conference championship. Valpo previously won Mid-Continent Conference regular season crowns in back-to-back seasons in 2005 and 2006, and posted a perfect record to claim the 2014 Horizon League regular season title.
Who’s Back and Who’s New: Valpo returns 18 letterwinners, including nine starters, from last year’s squad which claimed the MVC regular season title. The returnees accounted for 16 of the Beacon’s 19 goals and 17 of their 18 assists in Valley play last season. 11 newcomers round out the 2023 roster - nine incoming freshmen, one transfer and one redshirt.
Incremental Improvement: Since finishing joint sixth in the MVC table and missing out on the conference tournament via tiebreaker during the 2018 season, Valpo has improved its position in the final Valley standings each of the next four seasons. Valpo closed out the regular season in fifth place in 2019, finished tied for third in the spring of 2021 and were regular season runners-up in the fall of 2021 before claiming the regular season crown last fall.
Starting Out 2-0-0...: The Beacons got out to a perfect 2-0-0 start to the campaign with their wins over Eastern Illinois and Northern Illinois on opening weekend — just the fourth time in program history Valpo has earned victories in each of its first two fixtures of the season. Valpo last started 2-0-0 in 2017, while the program’s last 2-0-0 start against a pair of D-I opponents came back in 2012.
...Looking for 3-0-0: A win over Purdue on Thursday would mark a program first for the Beacons, as Valpo has never opened a season with a perfect 3-0-0 record. Valpo has been unbeaten through three matches twice in program history, as the 2010 and 2012 squads were both 2-0-1 — the 2010 team went on to a 3-0-2 start, the longest unbeaten streak to open a season in program history.
Power Conference Foes: This weekend brings about a pair of strong tests for the Beacons against power conference opposition. It is the first time Valpo has played consecutive games versus power conference sides since the program opened the 2015 campaign at Notre Dame and at Northwestern.
Easy as 1, 2, 3: Fifth-year midfielder Allie Anderson was involved in all three goals on opening weekend and was honored as the MVC Offensive Player of the Week for her performances. Anderson began with the assist on the opening goal against Eastern Illinois on Thursday, and then early in the second half headed home her first collegiate goal for what eventually became the match-winner. She followed on Sunday with a well-taken corner kick for the assist on the lone goal in Valpo’s 1-0 win over Northern Illinois. The lone MVC player to be in on three goals on opening weekend, Anderson is the first Valpo player with three goal involvements on an opening weekend since Sydney Griffin scored twice and assisted once on opening weekend 2017.
An Assist Machine: With her pair of assists last weekend, Anderson has now racked up 10 assists in her collegiate career. Nine of those helpers have come at Valpo, leaving her just one assist shy of cracking the program’s career top-10 chart in the category. Dating back to last season, Anderson has tallied six assists over her last 12 matches.
Just Another Player of the Week: It’s become like clockwork to expect a conference Player of the Week announcement for the Valpo soccer program late Tuesday mornings. Anderson picked up her first career weekly award from the MVC office, joining a long list of players on this year’s Beacon roster who have received accolades. In all, 10 players on the 2023 squad have combined for 22 MVC weekly accolades since the start of the spring 2021 campaign.
I Keep My Side of the Sheet Clean: Senior goalkeeper Nikki Coryell took another step up both Valpo’s and the MVC’s all-time charts on opening weekend as she made six saves in the shutout victory over NIU. The clean sheet was the 20th of her career, moving her into a tie with Mele Cabral and Erin Murray for second-most in program history and pushing her into a tie for eighth in MVC history. It marked the fourth time she has stopped six or more shots in a shutout, and Coryell and the Valpo defense have now surrendered one goal or fewer in 13 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
Showcasing Versatility: It’s not every day that a left back gets upon to fill in at striker, but with injuries up front for the Beacons, junior Sam Gountounas did just that on opening weekend. Gountounas started both matches at the 9 for Valpo, and the move immediately paid dividends in the season opener versus Eastern Illinois, as she found the back of the net 35 minutes into the match for her second career goal.
Heading Home the Goals: Fifth-year defender Nicole Norfolk has earned numerous plaudits for her work at center back for Valpo, but she’s shown the ability to contribute to the attack on corner kicks. Norfolk nodded home the corner from Allie Anderson on Sunday against NIU for the game’s lone goal — her third career goal and the second match-winner. All three of Norfolk’s goals have been headers off of corners.
Making Debuts: Four players made their first appearances in the Valpo uniform on opening weekend, three of those collegiate debuts. DePaul transfer Aubrey Ramey started and played all 90 minutes at right back in both matches, tallying an assist in the opener against Eastern Illinois. Freshman Anna Cup also played all 180 minutes in the two wins, slotting in immediately at center back. Freshman Daisy Boardman debuted with a 55-minute stint off the bench against EIU and then made her first collegiate start against NIU, going 58 minutes. Finally, freshman Julianna De Simone saw her first collegiate action with a 26-minute shift on the front line versus NIU.
Three-Time Goalkeeper of the Year: Senior goalkeeper Nikki Coryell has quite simply been the Valley’s top goalkeeper throughout her career, as she has been honored as the MVC Goalkeeper of the Year in each of her three seasons. Last season, Coryell posted an 8-5-4 record with a 0.91 GAA and an .800 save percentage, posting seven clean sheets. Coryell and the Valpo defense surrendered just five goals in 10 MVC matches last season and posted five shutouts - matching the program record for the most clean sheets within conference play in a single season. In her three Goalkeeper of the Year campaigns, Coryell has posted a cumulative GAA of 0.59 and a save percentage of .878 in conference play. In 26 MVC fixtures, she holds a 16-4-6 record and has recorded 14 shutouts, giving up one goal or fewer in 25 of those 26 matches.
Running Up Top: Senior forward Lindsey DuSatko enters the 2023 campaign having earned All-Conference honors in each of the last two seasons, as she was a Second Team honoree in 2021 and a First Team choice last season. The pacey forward was tied for second among Valley players with four assists in MVC-only play in 2022, picking up a helper apiece in four of Valpo’s regular season conference wins, and scored a goal as well. DuSatko assisted on the match-winning goal in the Beacons’ win at Murray State and scored the game-tying goal in Valpo’s draw with Southern Illinois.
Locking Down the Back Line: Fifth-year center back Nicole Norfolk has been the linchpin in the Valpo defense ever since stepping onto campus prior to the 2019 season. The stalwart in the back was a First Team All-MVC honoree in 2022 after earning Second Team recognition the previous year. Valpo’s record holder for consecutive minutes played by a field player, Norfolk played all but 14 minutes of Valpo’s first 15 matches of the 2022 season before suffering an injury in mid-October. With Norfolk on the field during Valley regular season play, Valpo surrendered just one goal in 544 minutes of play. Norfolk added Third Team All-Midwest Region honors to her resume as well last season.
Joiner Just Keeps Scoring: Junior forward Addy Joiner was more than just a spark off the bench in 2022 - she was an assassin in front of goal. A First Team All-MVC honoree, Joiner finished the regular season with a Valley-high seven goals on the year and eventually concluded the season in second place with her seven tallies. The two-time MVC Offensive Player of the Week scored six of her seven goals in Valley play, one apiece in six of Valpo’s seven MVC Victories. Her six goals in conference play were the most by a Valpo player in league action since Jackie Kondratko netted six goals in Horizon League matches in 2009.
Wait, There’s More!: The aforementioned four First Team All-MVC honorees from a season ago represent just over half of the total number of honorees from last season’s regular season champions. Fifth-year midfielder Allie Anderson picked up Second Team All-MVC recognition in 2022, while junior left back Abby White was a Third Team All-MVC choice. Sophomore Molly O’Rear rounds out last year’s award winners, as she claimed a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Even More on Last Year’s Awards: Valpo’s four First Team honorees in 2022 set a program record for postseason honors, as the program previously boasted three First Team All-League recipients on three occasions. The Beacons have had multiple First Team All-MVC honorees each of the last three seasons, and also have had at least one representative on the MVC All-Freshman Team in each of their six seasons in the conference.
