Valparaiso (11-1-4, 7-0-0 Horizon)
Crusaders close out regular season on the road
Friday, Oct. 31 – at Green Bay (10-5-2, 4-3-0 Horizon) – Green Bay, Wis. – 5 p.m.
This Week in Crusader Soccer: Valparaiso closes out the regular season Friday evening up in Green Bay. The Crusaders, who have already clinched the regular season title and hosting duties for the Horizon League Championship, are taking aim at a perfect Horizon League campaign.
Previously: The Crusaders clinched the outright league regular season championship on Saturday afternoon with their 1-0 victory over Detroit, their ninth consecutive win. Valpo had moved to the brink of the title with a 1-0 win Wednesday evening against Milwaukee, the Crusaders' first win over the Panthers in program history.
Following the Crusaders: Friday evening's match will have live video on the Horizon League Network, as well as live stats. Links for the live video and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. Over the course of the 2014 season, seven matches will have free live video on the Horizon League Network, including four matches at home, while WVUR, Valpo’s student radio station, will also be broadcasting select home matches.
Head Coach John Marovich: John Marovich holds a 63-43-24 record both overall and with Valpo in his seventh season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich has the best winning percentage (.577) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories.
Series Notes: Valpo trails the all-time series with Green Bay by a 5-8-3 margin, but has earned results in the last eight meetings between the two sides. Last season, the two squads battled to a 1-1 draw at Brown Field, with April Cronin scoring the match-tying tally in the 23rd minute for the Crusaders.
Scouting the Opposition: Green Bay enters Friday night's regular season finale looking to remain in third place in the league standings, owning a 10-5-2 overall record and a 4-3-0 mark in league play. Heidi Hartmann has scored a league-high 11 goals and has added three assists as well, while in goal, Nastacia Behle has seen most of the playing time and owns five shutouts and a 0.84 GAA.
Regular Season Champions: Last week's pair of 1-0 wins secured the regular season title for the Crusaders, the first in program history since joining the Horizon League. It is the third regular season championship overall in program history, joining the 2005 and 2006 Mid-Continent Conference championship squads. This season is the first since 1999 that Milwaukee has not earned at least a share of the Horizon League regular season crown, while Valpo is just the fifth program in league history to earn the outright regular season crown (Notre Dame, Butler, Milwaukee, Loyola).
What's At Stake Friday: While the Crusaders have already clinched the top spot in the league standings, there's still a good bit on the line Friday. Entering the finale at Green Bay a perfect 7-0-0 in HL play so far this season, Valpo is searching for its first perfect league campaign in program history - the 2006 squad did go unbeaten in Mid-Con regular season action, but had a pair of draws mixed in. In addition, only twice has a Horizon League team run the table in a nine-team league to go 8-0-0 - the 2009 and 2011 Milwaukee sides.
Tournament Look Ahead: As a byproduct of being regular season champions, Valpo will host the semifinals (Thursday, Nov. 6) and final (Saturday, Nov. 8) of the 2014 Horizon League Championship at Brown Field. As the top seed, the Crusaders will face the lowest remaining seed in their semifinal, which is still totally up in the air - five different squads enter Friday's action fighting for the third through sixth seeds. Detroit has already secured the second seed and has also earned a bye to the semis.
League, National Recognition: For the second time this season, goalkeeper Sydney Galvez-Daley was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week after posting the pair of clean sheets last week in helping the Crusaders clinch the title. The shutout of Detroit was the tenth of the season for Galvez-Daley, matching the program single-season record, accomplished twice before. It is the fourth time this season a Crusader has been named the HL Defensive PoW, as backs Shelby Oelschlager and Grace Rogers have earned the accolade as well. Speaking of Oelschlager, she was named to College Soccer 360's Primetime Performers Honor Roll for this past week for her work on the Crusaders' back line.
Unbeaten Streak: The win over Cleveland State on Sept. 27 set a new record for the longest undefeated streak in program history, and the streak continues today. With the most recent win over Detroit, Valpo’s undefeated streak now sits at 15 consecutive matches, as the Crusaders have not lost since the opening contest of the season. Over that stretch, the team owns a 11-0-4 record. The unbeaten streak has bested the record previously held by the 2006 side, which had gone eight straight undefeated (all victories).
Winning Them All Recently: The Crusaders started their current unbeaten run with a number of draws, going 2-0-4 in the games from Aug. 24-Sept. 14. But starting with the game at Eastern Illinois, it has only been entries in the win column for Valpo, as it has now won nine straight matches. The win over Milwaukee matched the previous record of eight straight wins (2006), while the title-clinching win over Detroit set a new standard.
Single, Solitary Loss: The last time Valpo lost a game (Aug. 22), the average gas price in Valparaiso was about $3.50/gallon. Over two months later, the Crusaders still have just the lone loss on the season, and gas is down to $2.83/gallon. Valpo is one of just six programs in the nation to enter the weekend with one loss or fewer, joined by UCLA, Virginia, Florida State, DePaul and Stanford.
Regionally Ranked: For the first time in program history, the Crusader program has earned a spot in the NSCAA Great Lakes Region poll this season. Valpo currently sits at #10 in this week's iteration of the poll, the fourth straight week the Crusaders have been ranked. Valpo is joined in the poll by seven Big Ten teams, as well as one squad apiece from the Mid-American Conference and Missouri Valley Conference.
Making an Immediate Impact: Senior Abby Kenyon had made just one appearance over the last seven weeks before being called upon in the 69th minute against Detroit. 50 seconds later, Kenyon unleashed a flip throw-in from 30 yards out that Sarrah Ludwig headed in for the eventual match-winner. For Kenyon, it was the fourth assist in her career directly off her flip throw and the second time she has hooked up with Ludwig for a flip throw/header goal combination.
Cronin Continues Strong Run: Sophomore April Cronin has just one goal last season as a rookie and went through the first seven matches this season without finding the back of the net. But since scoring a goal at Eastern Illinois on Sept. 19, Cronin has been stellar, scoring six goals in the last nine games - including the match-winner most recently against Milwaukee - and assisting on a goal in one of her scoreless games. Four of her six goals have been in Horizon League games, tying her for league-high honors.
Strong Defense Continues: The Crusaders posted two shutouts last week and continue to be one of the nation's best defensive squads. Valpo, which has given up just two goals in seven Horizon League contests to date and has not allowed more than one goal since the first match of the season, ranks fifth nationally in goals against average (0.41) and eighth in save percentage (.877), while goalkeeper Sydney Galvez-Daley is eighth in GAA and 15th in save percentage.
Crusaders Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll: The head coaches selected Valparaiso to finish in fifth place in the Horizon League this season according to the preseason poll. Milwaukee was picked to capture the league title, with Oakland and Wright State right behind the Panthers.
Roster Breakdown: This year’s Crusader squad brings back 19 players from last season’s roster, 16 of which saw action last year and seven of whom were regular starters. In addition, six newcomers – two transfers and four freshmen – join the fray as well.
