Valparaiso jumped on top early on Friday evening, but Morehead State
tied the match in the second half and scored the match-winner with 2:46 remaining
in the first overtime to give the Eagles a 2-1 victory over the Crusaders at
Jayne Stadium in Morehead, Ky. in the season opener for both schools.
The Crusaders wasted little
time jumping on the scoreboard in the new season, getting an early contribution
from a freshman. Trisha Wladecki (Avon Lake,
Ohio/Avon Lake H.S.) received a
cross in the middle of the box from senior captain Jackie Kondratko (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) and beat goalkeeper Lily
Meisner to put the Brown and Gold on top just 11:46 into the contest.
Valpo controlled play for
most of the first half, outshooting the hosts 8-2 in the first 45 minutes. Another freshman, Luisa Desario (Bartlett,
Ill./Bartlett H.S.) had two great
chances to add to the lead before the break, ricocheting two shots off of the
crossbar in a five-minute span late in the stanza.
“We dealt with the long
service by being dominant in the air tonight, and I thought we solved their
pressure by finding the midfield which allowed us to get out,” said head coach John Marovich.
Coming out of halftime,
seemed to maintain the intensity for the first 15 minutes before Devan Jordan tied the match at one with a breakaway
goal for Morehead
State. The two schools remained deadlocked the rest
of the half, forcing the first overtime match in a season opener in the 17-year
history of the Valpo soccer program.
In the overtime, Jordan again broke free and pushed the ball past
Crusader netminder Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview
H.S.) for the winning tally.
Despite the outcome, the
Crusaders doubled Morehead
State (1-0) up in shot
attempts, 16-8. Both Cabral and Meisner
made two saves each for their team.
“We had several good
performances from several players on the field,” Marovich said afterwards. “As we are putting this group together we see
a lot of positive things. We might be a little off in our timing but overall
the ideas were very good. The experience
we are gaining will help us as we move into the latter part of the season.”
Valparaiso (0-1) will head home to Eastgate Field on Sunday
evening for a 5 p.m. showdown with Michigan The match
will be carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso)
and online at www.valpoathletics.com.
in the Crusaders’ home opener.
Match Notes: The
loss snapped a string of four consecutive season-opening victories for the
Crusaders … August 21 marks the earliest start to a season in program history …
Morehead State was a NCAA Tournament participant one year ago.