Valparaiso (0-0-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
Sunday, Aug. 18 - at Chicago State (250 E 111th St.) - 1 p.m.
Next Up in Valpo Soccer: Winners of the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and the 2023 MVC Tournament championship, the Valpo women's soccer program starts its quest for a third straight championship season on Sunday, as the 32nd season in program history gets underway with a matchup at Chicago State, played at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep.
Previously: Valpo competed once against outside competition during the preseason, making the trip to take on Oakland.
Looking Ahead: Nonconference play continues next week with a pair of matches. The Beacons travel to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Aug. 22 before making their 2024 Brown Field debut on Sunday, Aug. 25.
Following the Beacons: A link for live stats for Sunday's season opener will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. All home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as part of The Valley on ESPN, while some road fixtures will have live video available as well.
Head Coach John Marovich: Entering his 17th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 132-118-48 (.523) 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: Valpo and Chicago State will match up for the sixth time in program history on Sunday, with Valpo looking to extend its 4-1-0 series advantage. This marks just the second time Valpo has played at Chicago State and the first time it will do so in the Chicago city limits, as the Sept. 2021 matchup was played in Bridgeview. Last season, the Beacons took down the Cougars 5-1 on Brown Field, highlighted by a hat trick from Addy Joiner - the eighth in program history. Lindsey DuSatko and Anna Cup also found the back of the net in the victory.
Scouting the Opposition: The Cougars posted a 4-12-0 record last season while playing as an independent. Jackie Tamayo, who tied for team-high honors with five goals last season, is CSU's leading returning scorer, while Jay Arballo, who played every minute in goal, returns in net.
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.
That Tourney Run: It was a magical 11 days in late October and early November last fall, as Valpo embarked on its dramatic run to claiming the MVC Tournament championship. The Beacons won all four of their tournament fixtures by 1-0 finals - the first time in program history Valpo has won four matches in a single postseason, and the first time in program history the team has strung together 1-0 wins in four straight matches. The final three of those four victories came over the top three teams in the regular season standings, including the title match win over host and regular season champion Drake. In three of those four matches, it took the Beacons until after halftime to find their lone goal, including one match that went to extra time scoreless. As the sixth seed in the MVC Tournament, Valpo became the lowest seed ever to win the Valley title and was the first team outside the top-two to claim the championship since 2007.
Conference Success: Valpo has enjoyed consistent success within conference play over the last few seasons. Since the start of the spring 2021 campaign, the Beacons are 19-7-10 within regular season MVC matches - a mark which improves to 19-5-10 with the removal of two matches versus departed conference foe Loyola.
Opening Things Up: While the D-I regular season begins on Thursday, Valpo won't take the field until Sunday - the first time since 2010 the program hasn't opened play on the first allowable day of regular season competition. That season, Valpo played just one match on opening weekend as well, taking on UMKC on Saturday. The Beacons are in search of a season-opening win for the second straight year, as they took down Eastern Illinois on Brown Field in last season's debut. Valpo's last win in a road match to start the regular season came in 2018, a 2-1 triumph at Green Bay.
Joiner Leads the Line: Senior forward Addy Joiner enters her final year looking for one more standout campaign to cap her prolific career in the Brown and Gold. Joiner earned First Team All-MVC recognition as a sophomore as she led the team and ranked second in the Valley with seven goals scored. Last year, she was a Third Team All-MVC selection, pacing the Beacons and ranking third in the MVC with eight goals while also chipping in a pair of assists. Tied for sixth in program history with 18 career goals, Joiner enters the 2024 campaign just three back of fourth position, seven back of third and 11 out of second.
From Newbie to Veteran: It's not often you'd call a sophomore a veteran presence, but that is exactly what sophomore center back Anna Cup brings to the Beacons' back line. As a rookie last season, Cup slotted in immediately to the team's defense, starting in each of her 22 appearances and missing only one match due to injury. Of her 22 starts, she went the distance in 21 of them, while Valpo surrendered one goal or fewer in 18 of her 22 starts. For her defensive efforts, Cup earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team.
Scooter Shines: Senior left back Abby White has been a steady sight running up and down the left side since she stepped on campus in 2021. White, who has accumulated over 4,500 minutes of playing time through her first three seasons, was an MVC All-Freshman Team choice in 2021 and earned Third Team All-MVC honors in 2022. Last season, White came up big in one of the biggest moments, as she scored the match-winning goal in extra time of the Beacons' MVC Tournament semifinal victory over Missouri State, bending in a corner kick for an Olimpico in the 97th minute. White played all 380 minutes of the tournament run, part of a back line which posted four consecutive clean sheets, and was named to the MVC All-Tournament Team.
Big Shoes to Fill: While the Valpo program graduated a decorated class of seniors following last season, perhaps none was more decorated than Nikki Coryell, the three-time MVC Goalkeeper of the Year and four-time All-MVC honoree. With Coryell's departure, the Beacons enter this season with a grand total of 0 collegiate regular season minutes at goalkeeper on their roster. A trio of netminders will look to step in and try to take their place in the legacy of strong Valpo goalkeepers: redshirt sophomore Kate Sheridan, redshirt freshman Helen Stegner and true freshman Hailey Wade.
The English Influence: Last season marked the first time in program history Valpo's roster featured a player from England, as Daisy Boardman arrived on campus from Warrington, Cheshire. This season, the number of players from across the pond doubles, as Kate Jeffery joins the Beacons from Southampton, Hampshire. In addition, Louis Owens - a native of Basingstoke, Hampshire - will work with the goalkeepers as the coaching staff's graduate assistant this year.
