Mele Cabral (Boulder, Colo./Fairview H.S.) came up big for the second straight match for Valparaiso in goal, but a late tally by Central Michigan pushed the Chippewas to a 1-0 victory over the Crusaders on Friday morning in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Cabral made six saves for the Brown and Gold, three in each half, to keep Central Michigan off of the scoreboard until the final nine minutes.

“Mele was very good today,” head coach John Marovich said afterwards.  “She dealt with high pressure in the box and handled the service well.  She gave us a very solid performance once against today.”

With 8:30 remaining, the Chippewas took advantage of a Crusader turnover deep, and after winning the end line, Laura Twidle scored her fourth goal of the season for what proved to be the difference.

Valpo had its chances in the second half.  Twenty minutes into the half Luisa Desario (Bartlett, Ill./Bartlett H.S.) picked up a turnover by Central Michigan goalkeeper Stephanie Turner at the edge of the 18-yard box, but her shot hit the near post.  Minutes later, Tracy Roos (Centennial, Colo./Cherry Creek H.S.) sent a shot that ricocheted off of the crossbar and stayed out.

“We did some things well today,” Marovich added.  “We won a lot of balls in the air, but we also struggled to put a lot of passes together to get our attack going.  Today our effort just was not good enough to win.”

Central Michigan (3-3) held a 17-6 shot advantage in the match and had the only four corner kick opportunities of the day.  Chippewa goalkeepers were not forced to make any saves on the afternoon.

Valparaiso (2-5) will return home next Friday afternoon as the Crusaders entertain the Flames of Liberty at Eastgate Field.  Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. with the action carried live on WVUR (95.1-FM, Valparaiso) and online at www.valpoathletics.com.

Match Notes: Desario led the Crusaders with three shot attempts and now has a team-high 20 on the season … Cabral now has 121 career saves, seventh most in school history … Central Michigan leads the series 4-2, including a 3-0 mark in Mount Pleasant.