Valparaiso (3-2-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Friday, Sept. 8 - at Youngstown State (4-1-1) - 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, Sept. 10 - at Eastern Michigan (0-4-2) - noon CT

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: It’s the final weekend of nonconference action for Valpo soccer this weekend, as the Beacons head east. First up is a matchup at former conference rival Youngstown State Friday night, followed by a stop on the way back Sunday afternoon for a fixture at Eastern Michigan.

Previously: Led by a hat trick from Addy Joiner, Valpo remained perfect at home with a 5-1 win over Chicago State last Thursday. Despite out-shooting the Mastodons, the Beacons were unable to make it a perfect weekend on Sunday, falling at Purdue Fort Wayne, 1-0.

Looking Ahead: Valpo will have 11 days between games after Sunday’s match at EMU, as the Beacons’ bye in the MVC schedule coincides with the first match day. Valpo returns to action Sept. 21 at Evansville.

Following the Beacons: Friday night’s match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, but Sunday’s match will have no video stream. 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 124-114-43 (.518) 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: Youngstown State - Former conference rivals in both the Mid-Continent Conference and the Horizon League, Friday marks the 18th meeting all-time between the two programs. Valpo holds a 12-2-3 advantage in the all-time series, including a 1-0 win on Brown Field last year on Aug. 21. Kiley Dugan scored in the 75th minute for the game’s lone goal, while Nikki Coryell had to stop just two shots to earn the clean sheet.

Eastern Michigan - Valpo is just 1-5-0 all-time against the Eagles, but just one of those six matchups have come since the turn of the century. EMU earned a 3-2 win in double overtime on Brown Field on Sept. 10, 2010.

Scouting the Opposition: Youngstown State - YSU has gotten off to a strong start this season, entering Friday’s match with a 4-1-1 overall record. The Penguins most recently defeated Indiana State on Sunday afternoon by a 2-0 final. Seven different players have accounted for the Penguins’ nine goals, led by two each from Chloe Weiland and Maddie Keister, while Brooklynn Kirkpatrick owns a 0.67 GAA and an .892 save percentage in goal.

Eastern Michigan - The Eagles are looking for their first victory of the campaign, entering the weekend at 0-4-2 after falling 2-1 at Eastern Kentucky on Sunday. EMU will play at Purdue Fort Wayne on Thursday night before Sunday’s matchup. Meagan Lukowski and Kate Robinson have both found the back of the net twice, with the latter owning a pair of assists as well.

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.

Five-Goal Performance: The Beacons put a season-best five goals past Chicago State in Thursday’s win. It was the program’s highest output against a D-I program since winning 5-1 over Indiana State to close the 2018 campaign.

Finishing Out the Nonconference: This weekend’s pair of games put a cap on Valpo’s nonconference slate of eight matches, heading into the 10-fixture MVC schedule. Heading into the weekend at 3-2-1, the Beacons have the chance to finish above .500 in nonconference action for the first time since the 2017 side went 6-5-0 outside of Valley play. Notably, with a pair of wins, Valpo’s 5-2-1 nonconference record would be the program’s best since the 2008 squad went 8-1-1 outside of Horizon League play.

A Long Road Stretch: Last Sunday’s match at Purdue Fort Wayne started the Beacons on a stretch of five consecutive true road matches, as it will be 28 days between home games on Brown Field. It is just the third time in the last 22 seasons that Valpo will play five straight road matches - the last instance coming in a similar time frame in 2017, when the program closed the preconference schedule with four road matches and then opened MVC play on the road.

A Power Result: Valpo’s 1-1 draw against Kentucky was the program’s first-ever positive result against an SEC program. It was the program’s first positive result against a power conference program since a 1-0 win over Northwestern in 2013.

Hat Trick Heaven: Junior Addy Joiner netted just the eighth hat trick in program history, by seven different players, as Valpo defeated Chicago State last Thursday. Joiner opened the scoring in the sixth minute, added an insurance goal less than 90 seconds out of the halftime break and banged home a PK in the 52nd minute to complete the hat trick. It was the first Valpo hat trick since Cory Griffith had a four-goal outing against Robert Morris [Pa.] in September 2018.

Moving Up the Charts: Thanks to her three-goal performance versus CSU - the first hat trick by an MVC player this season - Joiner has four goals to her credit this year, tied for top honors in the Valley. Her final goal against the Cougars was the 14th of her career, moving her into a tie for tenth place in program history.

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 on a seemingly weekly basis the last few years. Joiner was named MVC Offensive Player of the Week on Wednesday, Valpo’s second honoree this year after Anderson earned the same award following opening weekend. In all, 10 players on the 2023 squad have combined for 23 MVC weekly accolades since the start of the spring 2021 campaign.

DuSatko Gets It Done: Senior Lindsey DuSatko was involved in multiple goals in the same game for the first time in her collegiate career against CSU. Dusatko had the helper on Joiner’s opener for the seventh assist of her career, while she tallied her eighth career goal — three of which have been match-winners — a few minutes later.

Off the Mark: Playing just the fifth game of her collegiate career, freshman defender Anna Cup came up on a set piece and put home a rebound for her first collegiate goal and the third goal by a Valpo center back this season. Cup is the second Beacon to net her first collegiate goal this year, as Allie Anderson’s match-winner in the season opener against Eastern Illinois was the first of her career.

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. 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.

Making Debuts: Six players have made their first appearances in the Valpo uniform this season, five of those collegiate debuts. DePaul transfer Aubrey Ramey started and played all 90 minutes at right back in both matches on opening weekend, tallying an assist in the opener against Eastern Illinois. Freshman Anna Cup also played all 180 minutes on opening weekend, 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. Freshman Julianna De Simone saw her first collegiate action with a 26-minute shift on the front line versus NIU. Freshman Eve Miller made her collegiate debut with 20 minutes off the bench at Purdue last Thursday, while most recently, freshman Hannah Gabriel came in for a 30-minute stretch in the win over Chicago State.

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.