Valparaiso (0-2-0, 0-0-0 Horizon)
Crusaders open home campaign Friday, head back on road
Friday, Aug. 26 - 7:30 p.m. – Brown Field – New Mexico State (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Sunday, Aug. 28 – 1 p.m. – Chicago, Ill. – at Loyola (0-1-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team opens the regular season home slate Friday evening, welcoming New Mexico State to town for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. The Crusaders then return to the road, making the short trip to Chicago on Sunday to take on Loyola.
Previously: Valpo opened the 2016 season last weekend with a pair of road games, falling at IUPUI by a 2-0 final and at Bowling Green, 1-0.
Looking Ahead: The Crusaders head to the Cornhusker Classic in Lincoln, Neb. next weekend for neutral-site matchups with Saint Louis and Kansas.
Following the Crusaders: Both matches this weekend will have live stats available through ValpoAthletics.com. In addition, Friday’s contest with New Mexico State is the first match of the year slated for broadcast on Valpo’s student radio station, WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso).
Head Coach John Marovich: The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year, John Marovich holds a 73-54-27 record both overall and with Valpo in his ninth season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich is just five wins shy of moving into a tie as the program's all-time winningest coach.
Series Notes: New Mexico State – First meeting.
Loyola – The Ramblers are the Crusaders’ most common opponent all-time, as the two sides will be meeting for the 24th time. Loyola holds a 15-7-1 advantage in the all-time series, but Valpo has earned results in four of the last five meetings. Last season saw the Crusaders earn a 3-1 victory at Brown Field on the back of two goals from Shelby Oelschlager and one from April Cronin.
Scouting the Opposition: New Mexico State – The Aggies enter Friday’s contest with an 0-2-0 record this year, losing to UTEP (5-0) and Northern Arizona (1-0) on the opening weekend of play. NMSU posted a 5-15-0 record last season.
Loyola – The Ramblers have started out the 2016 season 0-1-1, drawing with fellow Horizon League squad Green Bay, 0-0, and falling to Fordham, 1-0. Loyola, which posted a 9-7-5 overall record last year, will travel to play Arizona State Friday night before returning home for Sunday’s matchup with the Crusaders.
Crusaders Picked Fourth in Preseason Poll: Valpo has been chosen to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Horizon League preseason poll, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Crusaders totaled 57 points in the preseason polling, in which coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team, to tie Wright State for fourth place. Oakland edged out Milwaukee by one point to top the preseason poll.
Looking Back at 2015: Last year's Crusader squad posted a 7-8-3 record, including a 4-4-1 mark in Horizon League play. April Cronin and graduated senior Rita Craven both repeated as First Team All-League honorees and were NSCAA Third Team All-Region choices, while Kelsey Jahn represented the Crusaders on the league's All-Freshman Team.
Hit the Road Jack: The 2016 Valpo side will compile plenty of travel time in the early portion of the 2016 season. Of the Crusaders' first nine regular season matches, only two will be at Brown Field, as Valpo will play five road contests and a pair of neutral-site matches at Nebraska's Cornhusker Classic. In the second half of the season, the Crusaders will play five of their final nine matches at home.
Experience Returning: Among the 18 letterwinners returning for the Crusaders in 2016 are seven of last season's 11 most regular starters. The team features plenty of new blood as well, however, as nine freshmen are in their first year at Valparaiso.
Going the Distance: Three field players played every minute of both games for the Crusaders in the opening weekend of play – sophomore Kelsey Jahn and freshmen Natalia Kontul and Ali Quillen. Kontul and Quillen were among nine freshmen to debut in the Crusader uniform in one of the first two games.
Cronin Looks to Lead the Way: Senior forward April Cronin seems primed for a stellar final year with the Crusaders after spending this past summer as a starter with the Chicago Red Star Reserves, helping the squad to a final-four finish in the WPSL. Cronin led Valpo as a junior with seven goals and three assists, and enters her senior year just four goals and 12 points shy of second place in program history in the respective categories.
