Sunday, August 19, 2012

The Valparaiso men’s soccer team controlled a good majority of its exhibition finale Sunday evening, outshooting visiting University of Chicago 21-4 and earning 12 corner kicks, but the final scoreline was a 0-0 draw in front of a crowd of 733 at Brown Field.

The Crusaders turned up the heat on the Maroons in the final 45 minutes, picking up 14 of their shots and eight of their corner kicks in the second half alone.  Valpo forced Brett Wiesen to make four saves for Chicago in the second half, while a Maroons defender also cleared a header from freshman Jordan Aidoud (L’isled’Abeau, France) off the line in the 86^th minute.

Chicago had two solid chances to break the seal on the scoreboard earlier in the second half as well.  The Maroons had numbers going forward in the 49^th minute, a rush which resulted in a shot from 20 yards out from Nicolas Lopez that Crusader goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck (Coralville, Iowa) saved.  Then, in the 61^st minute, Chicago was awarded a penalty kick following a Valpo foul in the area, but Michael Choquette’s effort from the spot was high and wide right.

Valparaiso opens the regular season on Friday afternoon, August 24 at Big Ten foe Michigan State.  Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. CDT, with live stats available through www.valpoathletics.com.