In a bracket which saw nearly 3,000 total votes cast over four rounds of voting, 16 of the top moments and achievements over the last year have been pared down to just one, as the women’s soccer team’s Horizon League Championship victory over Detroit has been tabbed the Best of Valpo Athletics for the 2014-2015 season.

The finals alone saw over 1,000 votes cast, as women’s soccer held off the men’s basketball team’s victory over Green Bay in the Horizon League title game.

With so many great accomplishments in the books from the 2014 campaign, the women’s soccer team still needed a win in the Horizon League title match to reach the ultimate goal – the NCAA Tournament. And Valpo did it in style, as tournament MVP April Cronin found the back of the net in the 84th minute at Brown Field for the match-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Detroit for the tournament championship. The Crusader defense, which led the way all season long, was at its best, surrendering just two shots to the Titans as Valpo extended its school-record winning streak to 12 matches and earned its 12th clean sheet of the year.

The win was just one of many highlights within the record-setting 2014 season for the Crusaders. Valpo won a program-record 14 matches and captured its first regular season and tournament crowns since joining the Horizon League. Rita Craven was named the program’s first-ever All-American, while both Craven and Jenny Fassbinder earned Scholar All-American recognition. John Marovich earned Horizon League Coach of the Year honors, while Craven was the league’s Player of the Year and Vanesa Abad the Freshman of the Year.