Saturday, September 06, 2008

Box Score

                Kendall Brown (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic H.S.) found the back of the net 2:50 into the second overtime on Friday afternoon as Valparaiso posted a 1-0 victory over IUPUI at Brown Field.

                The match was moved to Valpo’s new ProGrass surface due to heavy rains on Thursday that left standing water on Eastgate Field.

                Brown picked up a clearing attempt and fired from 25 yards out to the far post over IUPUI (1-3) goalkeeper Jamie Farrell to give the Crusaders their third shutout victory of the season.

                For Brown, it was her seventh career match-winner, moving her into a tie with Emily King (2002-2005) for second all-time in Valpo history in that category.  She also moved into sole possession of third place all-time with 19 career goals.

                Both teams played an even first half with the Crusaders holding a slim 6-5 advantage in shot attempts.  Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) made three saves in the first 45 minutes, but her biggest may have come in the second half.  About 17 minutes into the second half, Alicia Brock had a breakaway attempt, but Cabral came diving to the top of the box to make the stop.

                For Cabral, she now has three shutouts on the season and five for her career, tying Rose Holtkamp (1998-2002) for third on the all-time list.

                “I’m proud of how we handled stepping in and filling roles that were needed due to injury,” head coach John Marovich said.  “We got a result on a half-chance which is something we have talked about taking more of.”

                Valpo finished the match with a 14-12 edge in shot attempts and both teams had three corner kick opportunities.  Cabral finished the night with five saves while Farrell made three stops.

                Valparaiso (3-1) will begin a three-match road trip on Sunday afternoon as the Crusaders head to Terre Haute, Ind. to battle Indiana State.  Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CDT.

Match Notes: This was just the second time Valpo has played a home match other than at Eastgate Field … in 2004 the Crusaders faced Oral Roberts at Viking Field on the Valparaiso High School campus … Cabral’s third shutout of the season ties her for sixth on the single season charts … she now has back-to-back shutouts and her scoreless streak has reached 267:55 … she has lowered her goals against average to 0.24 on the season … Brown now has 46 career points, third all-time in Valpo history … the Crusaders are now 13-13-16 all-time in overtime matches … Valpo is 5-0-3 at home in overtime matches since losing to Green Bay on October 21, 2001 … the Crusaders lead the all-time series with IUPUI 7-3-1 … all four of Valpo’s matches this season have resulted in 1-0 decisions … Erin Suckling (Newmarket, Ont./Newmarket H.S.) made her first Valpo start.