Valparaiso (4-9-0, 0-5-0 MVC)
Sunday, Oct. 13 - Evansville (1-6-5, 0-3-3 MVC) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team kicks off the second half of Missouri Valley Conference action on Sunday afternoon on Brown Field against Evansville.

Previously: The Beacons dropped a pair of matches last week, falling 2-1 at Illinois State and 2-0 against Southern Illinois. Valpo had a bye in the Thursday match slot this week.

Looking Ahead: The Beacons travel south next week for a road swing to Belmont and Murray State.

Following the Beacons: Sunday's match 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 136-127-48 (.514) 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: Evansville holds a 10-5-5 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo, but the series has truly been a mixed bag since Valpo joined the MVC, as in nine meetings, the sides are 3-3-3 against each other. Last season, the two squads played to a 1-1 draw in Evansville. Chase Ray scored the game-tying goal in that contest, assisted by Abby White.

Scouting the Opposition: Evansville comes into Sunday's match wtih a 1-6-5 overall record this year and sits at 0-3-3 in MVC play following a 1-0 loss at UIC Thursday evening. Amy Velazquez and Emmy Brenner both have two of the Purple Aces' six goals on the season. Myia Danek has seen the vast majority of time in goal and owns a 1.57 GAA and a .785 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. 

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.

Youth in the Side: Valpo's group of freshmen has been called upon to do some heavy lifting this season for the Beacons' side. Entering Sunday's match, Valpo's freshmen have accounted for 40.9% of the team's minutes played by field players. That figure is the highest among all MVC schools, while only Illinois State (36.1%) comes in above 25%.

Finding the Goal: A natural defender, freshman Ashlyn Cohen has been deployed up front for the Beacons over the last month. Cohen scored her first career goal to open the scoring last Thursday evening at Illinois State, becoming the fifth different Valpo player - and the third freshman - to score a goal for the Beacons this season.

Joiner Just Keeps Scoring: Senior Addy Joiner enters Sunday tied for second on 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 fourth in the MVC 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 19 shot attempts, a ratio a bit better than her career line of 23 goals on 103 shots. The 103 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 22.3% is easily the best of any of Valpo's most prolific goal scorers - second-best is Cory Griffith's 16.6% clip.