Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Box Score

                Wright State scored twice in the final 20 minutes of the match on Wednesday afternoon as the Raiders defeated Valparaiso 2-0 at Eastgate Field.

                The two schools battled to a scoreless opening 45 minutes on a wet field after heavy rains throughout the day left the field slippery.  The Raiders had six shot attempts in the opening half, including two that were saved by Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) while the Crusaders managed just two shot attempts, neither of which were on goal.

                Valpo had a chance early in the second half, with back-to-back shots from in close five minutes into the stanza, but were not able to crack the scoreboard.

                Amber Kasmer finally found the back of the net for Wright State (6-6-1, 1-1-1 Horizon) with 18:56 to play.  From the far right side she lofted what appeared to be a cross toward the goal that found the far post for her fifth goal of the year, giving the Raiders the lead.

                With Valpo pressing forward offensively late in the match, Jess Rooma then collected a ball in the middle of the box and fired top shelf into the goal with just 8:21 remaining for the match’s final outcome.

                Valpo had two more chances late but shots by Jackie Kondratko (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) and Becky Clever (Cincinnati, Ohio/Madeira H.S.) were both saved by Meghan Hackerson, who finished the match with three stops.

                “We had a chance early in the second half that could have changed the complexion of the match,” head coach John Marovich said afterwards.  “We didn’t score and you have to give credit where credit is due.  They are a good side and scored goals late.”

                The Crusaders outshot Wright State 9-7 in the second half but the Raiders finished the match with a 13-11 edge in shots.  The visitors also had seven corner kick opportunities to Valpo’s two.  Cabral finished the night with four saves for Valpo.

                “We have to continue to stay true to who we are,” added Marovich.  “We need to continue to try and do the things that we want to do.”

                Valparaiso (7-3-1, 0-2) will remain home on Friday afternoon for a 4 p.m. match against Youngstown State at Eastgate Field.  The match will be carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpoathletics.com.

Match Notes: Brooke Henderson (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake H.S.) led Valpo with three shot attempts … this is the first time Valpo has lost back-to-back matches since the final two matches of 2007 … it is also the first time the Crusaders have been shut out in two straight matches since Oct. 26 and Nov. 3, 2007 … Wright State leads the all-time series 6-0.