Valparaiso (7-7-0, 3-2-0 Horizon)

Crusaders return home to Brown Field

Saturday, Oct. 15 - 6 p.m. – Brown Field – Youngstown State (2-10-1, 0-5-0 Horizon)

This Week in Crusader Soccer: With just four regular season matches remaining, the Valparaiso University women's soccer team returns home Saturday evening to host Youngstown State in a key Horizon League showdown.

Previously: Valpo came up just short in its attempt to knock Wright State off the top of the table last Saturday in Dayton, as the Raiders downed the Crusaders by a 2-1 final. April Cronin accounted for the Crusaders' lone goal less than two minutes into the second half.

Looking Ahead: Valpo faces a pair of matches next week, heading to UIC Wednesday night for mid-week action before closing out its home slate next Saturday night at Brown Field versus Oakland.

Following the Crusaders: Saturday's match will be broadcast live on WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso). Links for the live audio, as well as live stats, will be available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach John Marovich: The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year, John Marovich holds a 80-59-27 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 became the winningest coach in program history with Valpo's victory over Milwaukee earlier this year.

Series Notes: The Crusaders have dominated the all-time series against the Penguins, owning an 11-1-3 record, and picked up a big win over YSU last season, winning in Youngstown by a 6-0 final - matching the second-most goals in a match and the second-largest margin of victory in program history. Four different Crusaders scored goals and four others picked up assists in that win, highlighted by a two-goal performance from Cory Griffith.

Scouting the Opposition: YSU enters Saturday's match with a 2-10-1 record overall this year and has struggled in league play, dropping all five Horizon League fixtures so far - including most recently a 3-2 loss at Northern Kentucky. Ernestina Abambila has been in on 13 of the Penguins' 15 goals on the season, scoring six goals and distributing seven assists, but the YSU defense has surrendered nearly three goals per game.

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.

A Crowded Table: While the Crusaders fell into a tie for fifth following Saturday's loss at Wright State, there's still plenty of room to move up in the standings, as Valpo sits just three points out of second position. The Raiders sit atop the table with 13 points, with Milwaukee and NKU at 12 points each and Detroit Mercy just one point clear of the Crusaders with ten points.

Success at Home: With two of its next three matches at Brown Field, Valpo looks to continue its success on the home turf. The Crusaders have dropped just one match at home this year, entering this week with a 4-1-0 record in home fixtures this season. In fact, the Crusaders have posted a 31-9-8 (.729) record all-time on Brown Field, which became the program's permanent home field prior to the 2013 season.

Cronin Scores Again: Senior April Cronin extended her team-high goal total last time out at Wright State, finding the back of the net in the 47th minute for the Crusaders. The goal was Cronin's seventh of the year, while she also owns a team-high 17 points - moving onto the Crusaders' top-10 single-season charts in both categories. Cronin also sits in second place alone in program history in both career goals (24) and points (57), and is tied for second in match-winning goals with nine, just one off the school record.

Scoring the Clincher: Sophomore Cory Griffith has made a habit recently of scoring the goal which ends up being the deciding goal in victories. Griffith netted the match-winner in both of Valpo's wins two weeks ago, scoring in the 99th minute for the golden goal in the win over Milwaukee before opening the scoring in the 59th minute in the eventual 2-0 Crusader win at Green Bay. Griffith, who owns the match-winner in the Crusaders' last three victories, now has four match-winning goals on the season to tie a program single-season record.

Playing Extra Time: Four of Valpo's last seven matches have gone beyond 90 minutes, while the Crusaders have seen five total matches this year go into extra time. Each of the last three years, Valpo has played overtime in at least six matches. The difference so far this year has been the final results in extra time, as all five such matches so far have seen a golden goal scored - a far cry from the program's history, as entering the season, 43 out of 83 (51.8%) of the team's matches which went into extra time ended in draws.

Marovich Sets Wins Record: The dramatic win over Milwaukee was extra-special for the leader of the Crusaders. Head coach John Marovich won his 79th career match with the victory over the Panthers, becoming the winningest coach in Valpo women's soccer history as he surpassed his predecessor, Stephen Anthony. Marovich, who now has 80 victories, also holds the program record for winning percentage by a head coach (.563).

Weekly League Honors: Griffith was tabbed the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3 for scoring the pair of match-winners, becoming the third Crusader to earn the honor this season. Ava Porlier received the award earlier this year for her two-goal performance at Western Michigan, while April Cronin picked up the honor early on following a seven-point weekend - including her hat trick at Loyola. Entering this year, Valpo had not earned a Horizon League Offensive PoW award since the league split offense and defense in 2012.

Experience Back in 2016: Among the 18 letterwinners who return 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.