Defense.  It’s been the trademark of the Valparaiso women’s soccer team all season long, and faced with its toughest task of the season, the Crusaders were up to the challenge against #12/11 Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Friday night, keeping the Irish off the scoreboard for 89 minutes.  But Notre Dame found the back of the net with just 50 seconds remaining in regulation, as Valpo fell by a 1-0 final, ending the best season in program history with a 14-2-4 record.

The Crusaders surrendered 25 shots to Notre Dame, but most of the efforts ended up coming from outside the box, as Valpo successfully marked tightly in the defensive third throughout the night.  Nine of the Irish’s shots were on goal, with redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Galvez-Daley (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick [Creighton]) matching her season best with eight saves.

“Just like all season, I think our players really did a nice job of executing what we asked them to do tactically,” said Crusader head coach John Marovich.  “I’m proud of how hard they fought tonight.  There’s no question that they were ready to compete at that level – we did that, and made it difficult tonight.  If you watch Notre Dame’s reaction after they scored with 50 seconds left – the jubilation – it really tells you all you need to know about how we played.  We put in great work all day, and just did a really nice job executing our tactical plan.”

Galvez-Daley made a few simple saves on distance shots right at her in the opening 20 minutes of action, and then the Crusaders escaped damage when Notre Dame’s Karin Simonian smashed a shot from 30 yards off the crossbar in the 22^nd minute.  In the next couple minutes, Valpo had a couple pushes forward, and on a free kick by senior Erika Schoemann (Calgary, Alberta/St. Mary’s), sophomore April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) gained control just outside the box and fired a shot wide in the 25^th minute. 

Galvez-Daley then came up big a couple times late in the half, coming off her line to smother a shot by the Irish’s Anna Gilbertson following a perfectly-timed run in the 34^th minute.  Then, following a turnover in the defensive third, Galvez-Daley again came off her line to force an Irish shot wide in the 41^st minute as the game went to halftime scoreless.

Three minutes into the second period, Cronin had the ball in a dangerous position coming across the top of the box, but a toe poke by an Irish defender prevented a scoring opportunity.  The game was much more even in the first 20+ minutes of the second half, as the Crusaders limited Notre Dame to just three shots over that stretch, none of which were on goal.

Galvez-Daley continued her strong play to keep the Irish off the scoreboard on a pair of efforts around the 70-minute mark.  Notre Dame’s Glory Williams ripped a shot from just outside the box that the sophomore stopped with just over 20 minutes to play, and then Galvez-Daley again came off her line to stifle an Irish effort from Gilbertson less than two minutes later.

Valpo limited any dangerous threats from Notre Dame for most of the final 20 minutes, and had a push forward with less than five minutes to play, but an attempt from junior Rita Craven (Frankfort, Ill./Lincoln-Way North) to play Vanesa Abad (Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich [Ohio State]) was just out of the latter’s reach.  Then, with less than one minute to play, it was heartbreak for the Crusaders, as a cross by Gilbertson into the box landed at the foot of Kaleigh Olmstead, who knocked it in with her left from six yards out at the 89:10 mark.  Valpo got one final push forward in the waning seconds, but was unable to put anything on goal.

The Crusader defense closed out a record-setting campaign on Friday, surrendering a program record-low nine goals on the season and posting a 0.43 GAA.  Galvez-Daley also set an individual program single-season record for GAA and posted the best save percentage in a season in Crusader history, stopping 88.5% of the shots on goal she faced on the year.

Friday’s result closes out the careers of Crusader seniors Schoemann, Kelsey Draper (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg), Kaylee Draper (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg [Bowling Green]), Abby Kenyon (Canton, Ohio/Jackson) and Kristen Warner (Lombard, Ill./Glenbard South).  Over the last four seasons, the Crusaders won 40 games, while the seniors culminated their careers with a perfect Horizon League campaign and the first Horizon League title in program history.

“We have a group of five players that have battled and fought for four years,” said Marovich.  “They committed to getting better and committed to making this program better.  I couldn’t be prouder of this team as a whole, and especially those five seniors, for all the blood, sweat, and tears they’ve put in to get to this point.  They’re truly champions, and there’s no reason for them to hang their heads - they went down fighting to the last second.  That’s all you can ever ask – I’m just proud of them.”