Valparaiso (6-7-3, 3-4-1 Horizon)

Crusaders look for win in regular season finale

Friday, Oct. 30 – 7 p.m. – Brown Field – Cleveland State (8-8-1, 4-4-0 Horizon)

This Week in Crusader Soccer: The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team faces the final match day of the 2015 regular season on Friday evening, as the Crusaders host Cleveland State on Brown Field. With a win on Friday, Valpo will secure a bid in the Horizon League Championship, while a draw could also put the Crusaders into the tournament with some help. Friday night’s match will also serve as the team’s annual breast cancer awareness match.

Previously: Valpo dropped a pair of 1-0 decisions last week in opposite manners. The Crusaders surrendered a goal just 104 seconds into the match at Milwaukee last Wednesday in an eventual loss, and then saw Detroit score the golden goal in the 102^nd minute last Saturday.

Following the Crusaders: Friday’s match will be broadcast on ESPN3.com and WVUR, while live stats will be available through ValpoAthletics.com. Over the course of the 2015 season, seven home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN3.com, while WVUR, Valpo’s student radio station, will also be broadcasting select matches.

Head Coach John Marovich: The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year, John Marovich holds a 72-52-27 record both overall and with Valpo in his eighth season at the helm of the Brown and Gold. Just the third head coach in program history, Marovich has the best winning percentage (.566) ever at Valpo, and ranks second in total victories, just seven wins shy of the top spot.

Series Notes: Valpo holds a dominating 10-1-0 advantage in the all-time series over the Vikings, including wins in the last four meetings between the two sides. All four of those victories have come by just one goal, though, including a 1-0 win in extra time last season in Cleveland. Robin Wenzel found the back of the net less than three minutes into overtime to deliver that win.

Scouting the Opposition: Cleveland State enters Friday’s match with a .500 record on the year, going 8-8-1 overall and 4-4-0 in league play. The Vikings have dropped four of their last five fixtures, however, including a 1-0 decision Saturday to Oakland. Kaila Sargema leads CSU with six goals, as well as two assists, while Vicki Havas has scored five goals.

Looking Back at 2014: Last season’s Crusader squad was a record-setting side across the board, posting a 14-2-4 record, their 10th winning campaign in the last 11 years. The 14 wins marked a new program record, and the team set new marks for winning streak (12 matches) and unbeaten streak (18 matches) as well. The 2014 Valpo side became just the third squad in Horizon League history to post a perfect 8-0-0 record in regular season league play, as the Crusaders swept through the regular season and the tournament as well. Defensively, the squad set a new program best, surrendering just nine goals, while Sydney Galvez-Daley set new individual records for shutouts (12), wins (14) and GAA (0.43).

What Needs to Happen Friday: It’s quite simple for the Crusaders on Friday evening: win and they’re in the Horizon League Championship. Valpo could also earn a berth in the league tournament with a draw if Wright State defeats Detroit earlier in the day. While the Crusaders are unable to earn a home game in the tournament, they are still alive for the five-seed in the six-team event.

Academic All-District: A pair of seniors were honored Thursday by CoSIDA for their work both on the field and in the classroom. Seniors Rita Craven and Jenny Fassbinder both earned First Team Academic All-District V accolades for the second straight season, and are now eligible for Academic All-America honors. Craven and Fassbinder, both of whom were NSCAA Scholar All-Americans last season, both own GPAs above 3.9 as biology majors and have both been integral parts of the Crusader side over the last four years.

A Brace for Craven: Senior Rita Craven accounted for all of the Crusaders’ scoring in their win over Green Bay in their last home game with her pair of first-half goals, registering her second career multi-goal game. Craven now owns 14 career goals and nine career assists, both of which are tied for ninth-most in Valpo history, while her 37 points rank eighth. In addition, Craven’s match-winner against the Phoenix was the ninth of her career, just one shy of the Crusaders’ all-time record.

Cronin Adds to Her Total: Junior April Cronin added two more goals to her ledger with goals against Northern Kentucky and Loyola, bringing her team-leading total to seven goals on the season. Cronin’s seven goals place her in a first-place tie for most goals in the Horizon League. The junior is now tied for eighth on Valpo’s single-season goal-scoring chart and has boosted her career total to 17 goals, sixth-best in Crusader history and just one goal shy of fourth place.

Academic Success: The Valparaiso women’s soccer team has been not only strong on the field, but also in the classroom in its history and has continued that tradition. Earlier this week, the Crusaders were awarded the NSCAA Team Academic Award, presented to programs with a cumulative team GPA of 3.0 or better for the 2014-15 academic year, for the 13th consecutive year. Last year, Valpo posted a team GPA of 3.52.

Craven Back For More: Senior midfielder Rita Craven returns for her final season already the most decorated player in program history. Craven was named as one of 28 players to the preseason MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List, the first Crusader ever to earn a spot on the watch list for collegiate soccer’s most prestigious award. Last year, Craven became the first player in Valpo history to earn All-American honors, as she was named an NSCAA Third Team All-American. In addition, she was an NSCAA First Team Scholar All-American, as well as the Horizon League’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.

More Honorees Return: Craven is far from the only player to receive honors for her work last season returning in 2015 for Valpo, however. All four of the Crusaders’ NSCAA All-Region honorees are back this year, as senior Jenny Fassbinder and juniors Cronin and Shelby Oelschlager were all Second Team All-Region choices. Both Fassbinder and Oelschlager started all 20 games on defense last year, while Cronin led the Crusaders with nine goals scored. Galvez-Daley is back as well, a Second Team All-League pick by the league and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year as chosen by College Sports Madness, while Vanesa Abad (6 goals, 1 assist) returns for her sophomore season after being named the Horizon League Freshman of the Year last year. In addition, Morgan Manzke – the 2013 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year – returns as well after using last season as an injury redshirt year.