Valparaiso (5-3-6, 1-1-4 MVC)
Thursday, Oct. 12 - at Southern Illinois (1-8-5, 0-5-2 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 15 - Belmont (2-7-6, 1-2-4 MVC) - 1 p.m.
Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The regular season is hitting the home stretch, and the Valpo soccer team has a pair of key matches on the docket this week. The Beacons play at Southern Illinois on Thursday evening before returning home to Brown Field for Senior Day Sunday afternoon versus Belmont.
Previously: Valpo took just one point from its two matches last week, tying Illinois State at home, 1-1, before falling at Drake, 2-1.
Looking Ahead: Valpo’s home finale comes next Thursday, Oct. 19 as the Beacons host UNI. The regular season finishes up Sunday afternoon, Oct. 22 at UIC.
Following the Beacons: There will be no broadcast of Thursday’s road match. Sunday’s fixture with Belmont will be broadcast live on ESPN+. 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 126-115-48 (.519) 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: Southern Illinois - Valpo has not lost in three meetings with the Salukis, holding a 1-0-2 advantage in the series. In last season’s matchup, Lindsey DuSatko scored off a corner kick from Kelsie James in the 67th minute for the tying goal in a 1-1 draw at Brown Field.
Belmont - Valpo owns a 5-2-0 edge in the series over the Bruins, with all seven matchups decided by exactly one goal. Last season in Nashville, the Beacons earned a 2-1 win in the first meeting between the programs in MVC play, as Molly O’Rear scored in the 52nd minute to tie the match and Addy Joiner convert a penalty for the match-winner in the 76th minute.
Scouting the Opposition: Southern Illinois - SIU comes into Thursday’s match with a 1-8-5 overall record this year and is 0-5-2 in MVC play, most recently battling Indiana State to a scoreless draw. McKensey Bunch has scored four of the Salukis’ eight goals this season, while Chantelle Symes has seen most of the action in goal and owns a 1.29 GAA with a .746 save percentage.
Belmont - The Bruins come into the week with a 2-7-6 overall record and are 1-2-4 in Valley play, with a Thursday night match at UIC prior to Sunday’s affair. Maci Pekmezian has been involved in over half of Belmont’s eight goals, with four goals and one assist, while Sarah Doyle has played every minute in goal, posting an .821 save percentage and a 1.27 GAA.
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.
Strong Nonconference Record: The Beacons finished nonconference play with a 4-2-2 record. This year’s side is the first Valpo team to finish above .500 in nonconference action since the 2017 squad went 6-5-0 outside of Valley play. It is the program’s best nonconference record since going 4-1-4 in 2014.
Celebrating the Seniors: Valpo will recognize the six members of the 2023 senior class prior to Sunday’s match with Belmont on Senior Day at Brown Field. Joined by Aubrey Ramey as she transferred in prior to this season, the quintet of Nikki Coryell, Lindsey DuSatko, Cassidy Eckstein, Kelsie James and Chase Ray have had an immense impact on the Valpo soccer program. The group has posted a 28-20-17 record in the Valpo uniform, including a 17-5-10 record in MVC action. They have been instrumental in Valpo’s rise in the Valley, helping the program finish as regular season runner ups in the fall of 2021 and as MVC regular season champions in 2022.
Streaks Come to an End: A number of streaks came to an end on Sunday when Valpo fell at Drake. The Beacons had been on a seven-match unbeaten streak (2-0-5) prior to the loss against the Bulldogs - the sixth unbeaten streak of at least seven straight fixtures in program history. In addition, Valpo’s 11-match unbeaten streak in MVC play dating back to last season (5-0-6) came to an end, as well as the Beacons’ string of 15 straight Valley matches without surrendering more than one goal.
Rare Lead Lost: Perhaps the most impressive item which was snapped with Sunday’s loss was the fact that the Beacons lost a match in which they held a lead. The last time prior to Sunday Valpo had the lead in a match and didn’t come away with at least a draw was way back on Sept. 28, 2019 at Missouri State. Valpo had won or tied 34 consecutive matches in which it held a lead before falling on Sunday.
Home Cooking: One streak which remains alive is the Beacons’ unbeaten streak on their home turf at Brown Field. The draw last Thursday against Illinois State improved Valpo’s home record this season to 3-0-3. The 2005 side is the only other team in program history to win or draw its first six home matches of the season.
Fit to Be Tied: With the draw last week against Illinois State, the Beacons are up to six ties on the season, setting a program record for draws in a single campaign. The 2010, 2011 and spring 2021 seasons all featured five deadlocks.
Joiner Just Keeps Scoring: One season after pacing Valpo in the goal-scoring department, junior Addy Joiner has continued her prolificacy in 2023. She netted just the eighth hat trick in program history on August 31 against Chicago State, while most recently, she leveled the match against Illinois State with a second-half penalty kick. Joiner has scored a team-high seven goals this year, tied for top honors in the Valley, and has 17 career goals to rank eighth in program history, just one away from a tie for sixth.
First Timers: On the flip side from Joiner is the pair of players who were involved in Valpo’s goal at Drake on Sunday. Junior Peyton Evans headed home the rebound, scoring her first career goal in her 42nd game at Valpo. Meanwhile, it was junior Lauren Cook with the initial shot that came back off the crossbar to Evans - Cook’s assist was her first career point.
Etch Her Name in the XI: With 14 starts this season under her belt - all of which she has played the full 90 minutes - fifth-year center back Nicole Norfolk is up to 80 career appearances and 80 career starts in the Valpo uniform. Both marks are solo second place in program history. Should she start both matches this week, Norfolk would move into a tie with Beth Muskovich, who played for Valpo from 1996 through 1999, in both categories.
Making Her Debut: It’s rare to see someone make their season debut this deep into the season, but the combination of the number of Valpo players dealing with injuries and her recovery from her own ACL injury suffered prior to arriving on campus coalesced to create the opportunity for freshman Tatum Coleman to see her first collegiate action on Sunday at Drake. Coleman came off the bench late in the first half and ended up playing 27 minutes on the afternoon. She is the seventh different Beacon to make her Valpo debut this season.
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 30 MVC fixtures, she holds a 17-4-9 record and has recorded 16 shutouts, giving up one goal or fewer in 29 of those 30 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.
She Scores, We Win: 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.
