Sunday, September 11, 2005

Kendall Brown scored three times and added an assist as Valparaiso defeated Cleveland State 5-2 on Sunday afternoon in Cleveland, Ohio.

The freshman recorded Valpo's fourth hat trick in school history and has now tallied six goals on the season as the Brown and Gold improves its record to 4-2 on the season.

Emily King started the scoring for Valpo just 3:22 into the match tallying a penalty kick goal. Brown added her first of the afternoon at 33:42 to give the Crusaders a two-goal advantage at intermission.

Just 7:07 into the second half, Brown picked up her own rebound and scored her second of the day. Just over three and a half minutes later, she fed Lori Johnson who headed home her second goal of the season. Brown completed the hat trick at 66:26, scoring on a breakaway after receiving a feed from Allison Swanson and putting Valpo in front 5-0.

The Vikings' Ashley Spahn broke up the shutout at the 77:46 mark scoring from ten yards out. She added another goal with 1:30 left in the match for the final outcome.

Valpo outshot Cleveland State 20-14 for the match and held a 14-6 edge on goal. Brown fired off nine shots on the day, all on target, forcing Viking goalkeepers to make saves throughout the day.

Erin Murray started and played 55 minutes in net for the Crusaders, making three saves, while Danielle Guerra finished up. Erin Withrow made eight saves for Cleveland State (0-5) in 76 minutes of action.

Valparaiso (4-2) will return to action on Sunday afternoon, hosting Western Illinois in the Mid-Continent Conference opener at Eastgate Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.