Valparaiso and Green Bay battled for 110 minutes on Friday evening, but neither team was able to find the back of the net as the two schools settled for a 0-0 double overtime draw in Green Bay, Wis.

In a match that was nearly statistically even as the score, the Crusaders outshot the Phoenix by just a 14-11 edge.  Valpo did have the only two shots in the second overtime, but Maddie Drusch made saves on both attempts off the feet of Kendall Brown (Lake Zurich, Ill./Carmel Catholic H.S.) and Mikki Nuccio (Ortonville, Mich./Brandon H.S.).

Brown also fired a shot off the crossbar with 32 seconds remaining in regulation that would have won the match for the Crusaders.

“It was a pretty good battle,” head coach John Marovich said.  “I thought the second  half we had two to three dangerous opportunities, but we just didn’t finish.  Our defense did a good job dealing with the pressure of the service from Green Bay.”

Drusch made five saves on the evening for Green Bay (4-6-4, 1-4-2 Horizon) while Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) made four stops for the Crusaders on her way to  the shutout as well, and increasing her school single season mark to nine for the year.

Valpo had three of the four corner kick opportunities on the evening, and Brown had seven shot attempts, including three on goal for the Brown and Gold.

Green Bay did not have any players with more than two shot attempts on the night.

Valparaiso (10-5-2, 2-4-1) will remain in Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the 2008 regular season as the Crusaders face #18 Milwaukee.  Kickoff is set for noon.

Match Notes: This was Valpo’s second 0-0 draw this season, having battled Northern Illinois to a scoreless tie on September 12 … this is the first time in school history the Crusaders have played two scoreless matches in the same season … the ninth shutout for the team sets a new school single season record … Green Bay leads the overall series 8-1-1 … Jackie Thomas (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest H.S.) started her 74th consecutive match, moving into a tie for eighth in school history in career starts and tenth in matches played … Valpo enters the regular season finale on Sunday tied for sixth in the Horizon League standings with Cleveland State.