The Valparaiso University men’s soccer team debuted its new turf by equaling a program record for goals in a game on Monday night, downing IU Northwest 8-2. It was the team’s first regular season game at Brown Field since the facility received new turf over the summer. Freshman Cole Rainwater (Schererville, Ind. / Lake Central) made his first collegiate home game one to remember, producing a hat trick while finishing the night with seven points.  

How It Happened

• After scoring Valpo’s first goal of the season on Friday at Green Bay, it was Mason Marcey (Charlotte, N.C. / Charlotte Christian [Radford]) who again got the scoring going with a sixth-minute tally. He received a lead pass from Julien Bertho (Plumelec, France / Richland CC) at midfield, then beat the keeper to the left side.
• In the 13^th minute, Joe Kouadio (London, England / Mooreland School) received a pass to the middle from Marcey and beat the keeper to the left side from 15 yards out.
• Rainwater scored his first goal of the evening in the 23^rd minute, taking a lead pass from Dehai Abraham (Orlando, Fla. / Montverde Academy [East Tennessee State]) and finishing lower right from 10 yards out.
• The lead expanded to four in the 25^th minute when Michael Cushing (Orange, Calif. / Villa Park) won a scramble in the box and finished from eight yards out with Rainwater earning the assist.
• After IU Northwest got on the board with a penalty kick in the 26^th minute, Andy Lomeli (Dyer, Ind. / Lake Central) took a centering pass from Junta Callahan (Okinawa, Japan / Kadena) and placed his left-footed strike from 15 yards into the center left portion of the goal to make it 5-1.
• The RedHawks scored 15 seconds into the second half to cut the lead to three, but Valpo boosted it back to four thanks to Rainwater’s second goal. He took a pass from Vukasin Bulatovic (Elmwood Park, Ill. / Elmwood Park) and rocketed one into the right side of the goal from 15 yards out.
• Daniel Domicolo (Wayne, N.J. / DePaul Catholic [St. John’s]) beat the goalkeeper on the right side from four yards out in the 68^th minute on an assist from Brady Bell (Stilesville, Ind. / Cascade), then Rainwater completed the hat trick with a PK in the 86^th minute.

Inside the Game

• Valpo tied the program record for goals in a single game, a mark that was established Aug. 26, 2011 against Calumet. Monday marked the sixth time in program history Valpo prevailed by six goals or more and the first time the team had a margin of victory that large since the aforementioned 2011 game against Calumet.  
• Rainwater’s hat trick was the third in the last four years for Valpo as he joined Kendan Anderson (Oct. 31, 2016 vs. IUPUI) and Adan Garcia (Oct. 12, 2017 at Western Illinois). Before this four-year stretch, Valpo had gone a decade between hat tricks. Overall, Rainwater’s was the 10^th in program history. It came in just his second career match.
• Rainwater added an assist to his three-goal effort, making it a seven-point night for the Valpo freshman. He matched a program record for points in a single match, becoming just the fifth player in Valpo history to accrue seven. He was the first player to do so since Paul Leitelt on Aug. 27, 2006 vs. Evansville.
• Valpo outshot IU Northwest 41-4 and held a 21-3 advantage in shots on goal. Rainwater struck seven shots, placing six on goal.
• Freshman Danny Salazar (East Chicago, Ind. / Bishop Noll) made his collegiate debut in goal, earning the victory while grabbing his first career save.
• Rainwater’s goals were the first of his career, while Lomeli, Kouadio, Domicolo and Cushing all scored their first goals in a Valpo kit as well. Marcey’s was his second of the season and the third of his Valpo tenure. Seven of the eight goals were scored by players who entered the night seeking their first Valpo goal.   
• The Valpo side saw 11 different players register at least one point in the victory.

Thoughts from Head Coach Mike Avery

“I give a ton of credit to IU Northwest, their players and their coaching staff. It’s a big challenge for a young program to come here, and I thought they played hard right to the end of the game. We can actually learn a few things from them in that regard. The scoreline might not sound flattering, but the reality is that they can take a lot of positives away from that experience. My hat is off to one of our alums, Jordan Lewis, and his team. I am proud of what he is doing there, and it was great to see so many local players have a chance to play.”

Up Next

Valpo (1-0-1) will begin a stretch of four straight fixtures away from Brown Field on Friday night at UIC. The match kicks off at 7 p.m. with live stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.