The Valparaiso University men’s soccer team saw its six-match unbeaten streak snapped on Saturday night with a 2-0 defeat at Green Bay. The Crusaders absorbed their first league loss of the season and suffered their first defeat since Sept. 21 at Ohio State.

How It Happened

• The Crusaders fell behind when Green Bay’s William Nordenstrom scored on a free kick in the 23^rd minute, beating the keeper on the right side.
• With the Crusaders aggressively pursuing an equalizer, Tyrus Sciarra notched an 82^nd minute goal on the counter attack, finishing with a header on an assist from Karim Lauba.

Inside the Match

• The Crusaders outshot the Phoenix 12-7, while each team put five shots on goal.
• Green Bay goalkeeper Kyle Ihn made five saves to keep the Crusaders scoreless, notching his fourth shutout of the season.
• The Phoenix captured their second league win of the season, with the first coming on Sept. 10 against Wright State. Green Bay enjoyed its first multiple goal output of the year.
• Valpo goalkeeper Nico Campbell made three saves.
• Saturday marked just the third time the Valpo defense has allowed multiple goals in a match this season and the first since Sept. 21 at Ohio State. In addition, it was just the second time all year the Crusaders were held scoreless and the first since a 0-0 draw against SIU Edwardsville on Aug. 29.

Thoughts from Head Coach Mike Avery

“You have to give credit to Green Bay. They scored a wonderfully taken free kick with the wind at their back in the first half, and then did a good job managing the game. We never really found a rhythm, and they were able to keep the tempo out of the game through the second half when we had the wind at our backs. We were pushing at the end and they caught us on the counter to ice the game. They should feel good about the win because I thought they earned it fair and square. Really well done by them.

This is always a challenging trip. Green Bay's other league win this season was a home game against Wright State - the team I think is probably the best team in the league. We didn't handle the game well, again - in large part due to Green Bay's performance, but we aren't alone in having a tough time up here.

Our goal first and foremost is to qualify for the league tournament, then we can worry about how high a seed we can get. Our attention now turns to the week ahead with IPFW on Tuesday and then UIC next weekend. We've rebounded well to every setback so far, so I'm confident we will again. This is a proud group and they are well aware of the opportunity before them, even if tonight wasn't our best night out.”

Next Up

The Crusaders (7-3-3, 3-1-2) continue a stretch of four straight matches away from Brown Field on Tuesday night at IPFW. The match is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. CT, an hour earlier than the original start time. Links to live video and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com.