For the second straight match to open Missouri Valley Conference play, the Valparaiso University women’s soccer team came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 decision, this time falling by one goal at Evansville Saturday night.

How It Happened

• The game looked it was heading to intermission with both teams deadlocked in a scoreless draw, but that changed in the 43rd minute. Evansville’s Alex Eyler gathered a loose ball in the box and finished to give the Purple Aces a 1-0 advantage late in the first half.
• Valpo pushed forward early in the second half looking for the equalizer, firing off a quartet of shot attempts in the first 14 minutes and earning three corner kicks in that span, but was kept off the board.
• The Brown and Gold had a golden opportunity to level the match in the 81st minute, as Evansville was called for a foul in the box to give Valpo a penalty kick. But Evansville goalkeeper Michaela Till was up to the task, stopping the shot from the spot to keep it a 1-0 affair.
• The late equalizer would not come on Saturday for Valpo, as Till stopped a pair of shots in the final two minutes to preserve her clean sheet.

Inside the Match

• Saturday’s fixture was the 200th in charge of the Valpo program for head coach John Marovich.
• Valpo fell on Saturday despite out-shooting Evansville, 12-10.
• The Brown and Gold had eight shots stopped by Till in goal for the Purple Aces, a season high for saves by an opposing goalkeeper.
• Sophomore Kezia Gesell (Winnipeg, Manitoba/Glenlawn Collegiate Institute) started her fourth consecutive game in goal for Valpo and surrendered just a lone goal for the fourth straight time as well, lowering her season GAA to 1.15.

Thoughts From Coach Marovich

“This was a difficult result for us tonight on the road. I liked how we responded in the second half after giving up the goal late in the first half.”

“We challenged their goalkeeper, and unfortunately for us, she was up to the task. We continued to push and got ourselves a PK, but weren’t able to tie the match.”

“This is The Valley every night – tough, fast, physical battles that can go either way.”

Next Up

Valpo (3-6-1, 0-2-0 MVC) steps out of conference play for the final time on Wednesday night as it hosts UIC at Brown Field at 7:30 p.m. The match can be seen live on ESPN+.