Valparaiso (4-7-0, 0-3-0 MVC)
Thursday, Oct. 3 - at Illinois State (2-7-2, 0-2-1 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 6 - Southern Illinois (5-2-4, 1-0-2 MVC) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: It's back to a two-match week for the Valpo soccer team this weekend. The Beacons open the week Thursday evening at Illinois State before returning to Brown Field on Sunday afternoon for their Senior Day match against Southern Illinois.

Previously: After a bye on Thursday last week, the Beacons traveled to play UNI on the road on Sunday, falling to the Panthers by a 4-0 final.

Looking Ahead: Next week features just one match on the slate, as Valpo hosts Evansville on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Following the Beacons: Both of this week's matches will be aired live on ESPN+ and will have live stats via ValpoAthletics.com. All home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as part of The Valley on ESPN, while most road fixtures will also have live video available. 

Head Coach John Marovich: In his 17th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 136-125-48 (.518) record both overall and at Valpo as a head coach. The 2014 Horizon League Coach of the Year and the head of the 2022 MVC Coaching Staff of the Year, Marovich holds Valpo's all-time records for both victories and winning percentage.

Series Notes: Illinois State - Valpo is just 3-7-2 all-time against the Redbirds, but the series is 3-2-2 since Valpo joined the MVC. The Beacons have earned wins or draws in each of the last four meetings between the two programs, including a 1-1 draw on Brown Field last October. Addy Joiner scored a penalty kick to level the match in the 62nd minute, while Nikki Coryell made three saves in goal.

Southern Illinois - The Beacons are 2-0-2 in the all-time series with the Salukis, including a 2-1 victory in Carbondale last October. Chase Ray and Addy Joiner scored the goals for Valpo, assisted by Sam Gountounas and Molly O'Rear, respectively. Nikki Coryell made four saves in net.

Scouting the Opposition: Illinois State - The Redbirds come into Thursday's match at 2-7-2 overall this year and are 0-2-1 through three MVC matches, most recently dropping a 3-0 decision on Sunday at Drake. ISU has been limited to three goals through 11 matches, two of those scored by Chloe Cline. Madi Valenti has seen most of the playing time in goal, posting a 1.75 GAA and a .660 save percentage.

Southern Illinois - The Salukis enter the week with a 5-2-4 overall record and are 1-0-2 in Valley play, most recently defeating Murray State last Sunday, 1-0. SIU will play at UIC Thursday night before Sunday's visit to Brown Field. Sophia Schlickin leads the attack with four goals and one assist, with McKensey Bunch right behind her with three goals and two assists. Fabiana Solano has played every second in goal and enters the week with a 0.82 GAA and an .824 save percentage.

Valpo Picked Fifth in Preseason Poll: The Beacons were chosen to finish in fifth place in preseason polling of the MVC head coaches. Valpo tallied 83 points in the poll, coming in just behind UIC (87) and UNI (85). Missouri State was picked to win the conference and garnered seven first-place votes, while Drake was chosen second and picked up three first-place nods. Notably, the program has matched or surpassed its preseason projection in six of its first seven seasons in the Valley, and the only season it didn't was 2023, when Valpo eventually claimed the MVC Tournament title.

Preseason Honoree: Senior forward Addy Joiner was recognized by the Valley as a preseason First Team All-MVC honoree when the preseason poll was released. Joiner has twice earned postseason recognition, as she was a First Team All-MVC selection in 2022 and picked up Third Team All-MVC accolades in 2023. Joiner netted eight goals last season, tying her for third in the MVC and moving into a tie for ninth on the program's single-season goals chart. She enters her final campaign tied for sixth in program history with 18 career goals, tied for seventh with 40 points and tied for eighth with six match-winning goals.

Looking Back at Last Season: Valpo claimed its first MVC Tournament championship since joining the Valley in dramatic fashion in 2023, winning four consecutive tournament matches  by 1-0 finals to earn the crown and return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014, where it battled #9 Notre Dame to a scoreless first half before eventually falling 2-0. The Beacons finished the season 11-6-6 overall and went 3-3-4 in MVC regular season play, finishing sixth in the regular season standings. Nicole Norfolk was a First Team All-MVC selection, highlighting six Beacons who earned postseason recognition from the Valley, and also picked up Second Team All-Region honors.

Who's Back: In a rarity in the transfer portal era we live in, all 20 players from the 2023 team who did not graduate are back and on the 2024 roster. That includes five regular starters and 13 of the team's 27 goals from last season. 

Who's Gone: But the Beacons did graduate a decorated class of nine players who closed their time at Valpo with championships in back-to-back seasons, a group which accounted for 54.2% of the team minutes played in 2023. The four-year seniors who graduated put together maybe the best four-year stretch in program history, posting a 19-7-10 record in MVC play and advancing to four consecutive MVC Tournament semifinals. That group of seniors combined for nine All-MVC selections, 12 MVC weekly awards, 28 goals, 27 assists and 28 shutouts over their four years.

Who's New: Chomping at the bit to be the next group of Beacons to help keep Valpo among the MVC's best are 10 newcomers to the roster in 2024. That group includes nine true freshmen and grad transfer Ella Schad, who is utilizing her COVID year of eligibility after playing four seasons at Coastal Carolina.

Celebrating the Seniors: Valpo will recognize nine players on Senior Day Sunday prior to the match against Southern Illinois. Ella Schad joined the program this year as a grad transfer, while Lauren Cook, Cara Crompton, Peyton Evans, Dana Fish, Sam Gountounas, Addy Joiner, Emma Morrison and Abby White have all spent the last four seasons at Valpo. Over that time, they have been part of 33 victories, an MVC regular season championship side in 2022 and an MVC tournament championship squad in 2023.

Shot Differential: Valpo did seemingly everything right to come away with a win in its Valley opener over Indiana State - except for the final scoreline. The Beacons ripped off 19 shots against the Sycamores, six of which were on goal, but were unable to find the back of the net - coming into that match, Valpo had been averaging a goal for every eight shot attempts and a goal for every 3.8 shots on goal. The 19 shots was the team's highest total since registering 24 last October against Belmont - notably, also a match Valpo was shut out in. Meanwhile, the Beacons limited ISU to seven shots last Thursday, the lowest total by an opponent since the season opener against Chicago State.

Joiner Just Keeps Scoring: Senior Addy Joiner enters this week tied atop the MVC scoring chart, as she scored her fifth goal of the season against Drake to open the scoring. With a pair of assists to her credit, Joiner also is tied for the MVC lead with 12 points.

Joiner's goal against Drake was the 23rd of her career, fourth-most in program history and two shy of April Cronin in third place. With 52 career points, she is tied with Emily King and Kendall Brown for fourth-most in program history, while she also ranks fifth all-time at Valpo with eight match-winning goals.

Shooting With Accuracy: Joiner's five goals this year have come on 18 shot attempts, a ratio a bit better than her career line of 23 goals on 102 shots. The 102 shots is by far the fewest in the career of any of Valpo's top-10 career goal scorers, as the next fewest shot attempts was Rachel Hoaglin's 117. In addition, Joiner's shooting percentage of 22.5% is easily the best of any of Valpo's most prolific goal scorers - second-best is Cory Griffith's 16.6% clip.

Freshman Finds the Touch: Freshman Kaleigh Shafer delivered the pair of strikes for goals which lifted Valpo to a 2-1 victory at Wright State, the first two goals of her collegiate career. Shafer is the first Valpo freshman with a multi-goal game since Maria Broecker tallied two goals in Horizon League Tournament action at Oakland Oct. 31, 2016.

88th Minute Magic: The second of Shafer's goals came with just 2:04 to play, remarkably the second time this year Valpo has found the match-winner in the 88th minute of play, as Addy Joiner scored with 2:36 remaining in the win over Milwaukee. They are Valpo's two latest match-winning goals in regulation since Kelsey Jahn struck with 27 seconds remaining in the 90 minutes in the 2017 MVC opener at Missouri State.

Making Stops: Freshman Hailey Wade played just 45 minutes in goal over the first four matches, but stood out over the next two fixtures. She came on at halftime against #15 Xavier and acquitted herself well, making six saves while surrendering just two goals. Wade then earned her first career start at Wright State and made 11 saves in the Beacons' 2-1 victory - the most saves by a Valpo player since Kezia Gesell stopped 12 shots in a win at Illinois State Oct. 8, 2018. For her efforts in those two matches, Wade was named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Week. Then, in her next outing, Wade recorded the first shutout of her collegiate career, blanking Eastern Michigan.

Player of the Week: For her multiple goal involvements in the Milwaukee win, Joiner was named the MVC Player of the Week. It was the fifth weekly honor of her career - she earned Freshman of the Week once as a rookie, was Player of the Week twice as a sophomore and then once as a junior. Joiner joins Lori Moore as the only players in program history to earn weekly recognition from the conference office at least once in each of their four seasons.