Sunday, August 21, 2005

Valparaiso kicked off its 2005 exhibition season in victorious fashion on Sunday evening, as the Crusaders shutout Saint Joseph's (Ind.) 4-0 in Rensselaer, Ind.

The Crusaders were jump-started in the first half as Jeremy Stacy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Christian H.S.) scored after receiving a feed from Andrew Stewart (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson H.S.). D.J. Catrow (Springfield, Ohio/Catholic Central H.S.) made it 2-0 Crusaders at intermission, with Phillip Dennis (Las Cruces, N.M./Las Cruces H.S.) drawing the assist.

Valpo added a pair of insurance goals in the second half. Jon Brighton (Warner Robins, Ga./Houston County H.S.) tallied the third goal with Stacy adding the assist for his third point of the night. Greg Gibson (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side H.S.) capped off the scoring for the Brown and Gold after receiving a pass from Paul Leitelt (Munster, Ind./Munster H.S.).

Jeff Oleck (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral H.S.) and Sean McGinnis (Barrington, Ill./Barrington H.S.) each saw a half of action between the posts for the Crusaders in the shutout effort.

Valparaiso will conclude its exhibition season on Saturday evening as the Crusaders travel to Dayton for a 6 p.m. CDT match against the Flyers.