Valparaiso (1-1-3, 0-0-0 Horizon)
With league play looming, Crusaders take on pair of non-league foes
Friday, Sept. 12 – 6 p.m. CT – Fort Wayne, Ind. – at IPFW (1-4-0, 0-0-0 Summit)
Sunday, Sept. 14 – 1 p.m. – Brown Field – Evansville (4-3-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
This Week in Crusader Soccer: Two more non-league matchups await the Valparaiso women’s soccer team this weekend as it continues preparation for Horizon League play. The Crusaders travel to Fort Wayne to take on IPFW Friday evening, before returning home to Brown Field to host Evansville on Sunday afternoon.
Previously: Inclement weather forced the cancelation of last Friday’s scheduled contest against Ball State, but the Crusaders were able to pick up their first win of the season on Sunday, winning at Western Illinois by a 3-0 final. Rita Craven, Kat Anesini and Vanesa Abad notched goals in the victory, while Sydney Galvez-Daley made eight saves to earn the shutout.
Following the Crusaders: Links for live stats for both of this weekend’s matches will be available at ValpoAthletics.com, which will also have links for live video and audio for Sunday afternoon’s match. Over the course of the 2014 season, five matches will have free live video on the Horizon League Network, including four matches at home, while WVUR, Valpo’s student radio station, will also be broadcasting select home matches.
Head Coach John Marovich: John Marovich holds a 53-43-23 record both overall and with Valpo in his seventh season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich has the best winning percentage (.542) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories.
Series Notes: IPFW – Valpo owns a 10-2-1 edge in the all-time series over IPFW and has won the last seven meetings dating back to 2006. Last season, the Crusaders defeated the Mastodons at Brown Field by a 1-0 final thanks to a goal in the 20th minute from Hailey Chmela.
Evansville – The Crusaders are looking to reverse the series trend against the Purple Aces, as UE is 8-2-1 all-time against Valpo. The Aces have won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 victory over the Crusaders last season in Evansville.
Scouting the Opposition: IPFW – The Mastodons enter Friday night’s matchup with a 1-4-0 record so far this year, most recently falling at Butler, 4-0. IPFW has surrendered 16 goals in its five games, and while it has scored seven times, six of those came in the Mastodons’ lone win – a 6-4 triumph over Northern Kentucky.
Evansville – The Purple Aces enter the weekend at 4-3-0 on the season and play IUPUI on Friday before making their way to Valpo. Bronwyn Boswell leads Evansville with three goals on the year, while Noor Medlej has tallied three assists. The Purple Aces have also posted four shutouts in their seven games to date.
Goal-Scoring Bonanza: After scoring just two goals in their first four matches of the season, Valpo found the back of the net three times last time out in the win over Western Illinois – including twice in the first half, the team’s first goals in the opening 45 minutes this season. For the Crusaders, it was their first time scoring three goals in a regular-season contest since Sept. 9, 2012, when they defeated Bowling Green, 3-0.
Youth Movement: Looking at the contributors to the three goals on Sunday, the future appears bright for the Crusaders. Three different players found the back of the net, while three more players tallied assists. Of the six players in on the goals, only one – Rita Craven (a junior) – is an upperclassman, while two are sophomores and three are freshmen.
Craven Craving Match-Winners: Junior Rita Craven has made it a habit in her time at Valpo to make her goals count. She tallied three goals in her first two seasons – at IPFW as a freshman, and against DePaul and at Youngstown State last season – and all three of them were match-winning goals. Craven kept the trend going last time out, scoring the opening goal in the 3-0 win over the Leathernecks to earn the fourth match-winning goal of her career.
Four Straight Without a Loss: Since losing their season opener to Belmont, the Crusaders have gone four straight matches without losing, earning draws in three consecutive contests before the win over Western Illinois. It marks Valpo’s longest unbeaten streak since a stretch spanning the 2011 and 2012 seasons, when the Crusaders went 3-0-4 over a seven-game span.
Galvez-Daley Strong in Net: With a tradition of strong goalkeeping in the Valparaiso women’s soccer program, the Crusaders looked to redshirt sophomore Sydney Galvez-Daley to fill the spot between the pipes this season, and she has been strong so far. Galvez-Daley was tabbed the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after opening weekend, and has already posted three clean sheets in her first five games while surrendering just two goals. Galvez-Daley leads the league in both shutouts (3) and goals against average (0.53).
Crusaders Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll: The head coaches selected Valparaiso to finish in fifth place in the Horizon League this season according to the preseason poll. Milwaukee was picked to capture the league title, with Oakland and Wright State right behind the Panthers.
Looking Back at 2013: Last season’s Crusader squad posted an 8-7-3 record, their ninth winning campaign in the last ten years. Included among the eight victories were a season-opening win over DePaul – the program’s first-ever win over a major conference program – and a victory over Northwestern – the Crusaders’ first against a Big Ten opponent. Valpo continued its tradition of being a strong defensive side, surrendering just 15 goals in the 18 games. Ten different players scored goals for the Crusaders, with 16 players in all tallying points.
Roster Breakdown: This year’s Crusader squad brings back 19 players from last season’s roster, 16 of which saw action last year and seven of whom were regular starters. In addition, six newcomers – two transfers and four freshmen – join the fray as well.
