A goal midway through the first half proved to be the difference Sunday afternoon in Fort Wayne, Ind., as the Valpo soccer team fell 1-0 at Purdue Fort Wayne to kick off a stretch of five consecutive road matches.

How It Happened

• After absorbing pressure from the Mastodons over the game’s first few minutes, the Beacons controlled the vast majority of the final 38 minutes of the first half.
• In fact, Purdue Fort Wayne had just one shot attempt over that stretch, but it was a decisive one, as a defensive miscue led to a goal for Morgan Gallagher.
• Meanwhile, Valpo kept the pressure on, racking up 12 shot attempts and four corner kicks in the opening half. But Mastodon goalkeeper Samantha Castaneda stopped all five Beacon efforts on goal to keep the Mastodons in front.
• Valpo goalkeeper Nikki Coryell (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) stopped a trio of shots in the second half to keep the Mastodons on one goal, but the Beacons were unable to find the equalizer in the final 45 minutes.

Inside the Match

• The game was the first of five consecutive on the road for the Beacons, who will not play at home on Brown Field until Sept. 28.
• Valpo out-shot PFW 14-10 for the match and put seven shots on goal to the Mastodons’ six.
• Coryell finished with five saves, while Castaneda made seven stops for PFW.
• Four Valpo field players played the entire 90 minutes on Sunday, including fifth-year defender Nicole Norfolk (Menomonee Falls, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels), who is the lone field player to play all 540 minutes this season.

Thoughts From Head Coach John Marovich

“Finding results on the road is challenging normally, but especially if you give up a goal early on.”

“Our performance today didn’t have the same fluidity as in our other matches. We played a bit more rushed, which fed into our finishing in the box to be rushed.”

“We learned that we can be flexible in our shape when chasing the game. Although the result went against us today, the lessons we learned are valuable to our continued growth as a team.”

Next Up

Valpo (3-2-1) continues its stretch of road matches with its final weekend of nonconference play next weekend, beginning Friday night at 6 p.m. CT at Youngstown State. That match can be seen live on ESPN+.