Valparaiso (3-3-0, 0-0-0 MVC)
Thursday, Sept. 12 - Eastern Michigan (4-1-0) - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 15 - at Northern Illinois (4-1-1) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: One final weekend of nonconference play presents a pair of challenging tests for the Valpo soccer team, as the Beacons host Eastern Michigan on Thursday night at Brown Field before their final tuneup for MVC play Sunday afternoon at Northern Illinois.

Previously: Valpo fell to #15 Xavier on Thursday evening, but rebounded on Sunday behind a Kaleigh Shafer brace for a 2-1 win at Wright State.

Looking Ahead: MVC play opens for the Beacons with a pair of home matches. Valpo welcomes Indiana State to Brown Field Thursday, Sept. 19 before facing off with Drake three days later.

Following the Beacons: Thursday's match versus Eastern Michigan will have a live ESPN+ broadcast, while Sunday's match at Northern Illinois will have a free video steams as well and live stats will be available for both matches. All home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as part of The Valley on ESPN, while some 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 135-121-48 (.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: Eastern Michigan - Valpo is just 1-5-1 all-time against the Eagles, but only two of those matchups have come this century. Meeting for the first time in 13 years last season, Valpo and EMU drew 1-1 in Ypsilanti, Mich. Allie Anderson rescued the draw with an 86th-minute goal off assists from Lindsey DuSatko and Abby White, while Nikki Coryell made six saves in goal.

Northern Illinois - Valpo is just 1-8-1 all-time against the NIU, but earned that lone win over the Huskies in last season's nonconference meeting on Brown Field. That 1-0 win featured a 61st-minute goal from Nicole Norfolk for the match's lone tally. Coryell made six saves to earn the victory.

Scouting the Opposition: Eastern Michigan - The Eagles come to Brown Field with a 4-1-0 mark so far this season. EMU won each of its first four matches - including a 3-2 win at UIC - before falling last time out at Cincinnati, 3-1. Olivia Sipsock has been involved with five of the Eagles' eight goals, tallying three goals and two assists, while Ella Holland has played every minute in goal with a 1.00 GAA and an .808 save percentage.

Northern Illinois - The Huskies enter the week with a 4-1-1 overall record, most recently earning a 3-0 win at Eastern Illinois. NIU will play at Illinois State Thursday evening before hosting Valpo on Sunday. Tyra King has a team-high five goals and has also picked up a pair of assists, while Ary Purifoy has seen most of the action in goal, posting a 1.03 GAA and a .706 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.

Closing Out Nonconference: Nonconference play comes to an end for the Beacons this week with their games against Eastern Michigan and at Northern Illinois. Valpo enters the week at 3-3-0, putting itself in position to potentially finish above .500 in the nonconference for a second straight season, as last year's side went 4-2-2 in nonconference action. Prior to last year, Valpo had not finished above .500 in nonconference since 2017.

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 last time out, 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.

Helping Out: It's not unusual for seniors Sam Gountounas and Addy Joiner to rack up goal involvements, but for them to be on the assisting end rather than the scoring end is a little less common. Gountounas, who has five career goals, picked up her second career assist on Shafer's first goal at Wright State, while Joiner, who has scored 20 goals, registered the sixth assist of her career on Gountounas' match-winner. With 46 career points, Joiner is now alone in sixth place in program history in that category.

Making Stops: Entering last week, freshman Hailey Wade had played just 45 minutes in goal over the first four games. But she came on at halftime against #15 Xavier last Thursday and acquitted herself well, making six saves while surrendering just two goals. Wade then earned her first career start on Sunday 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.

Brown Field Drama: Down one goal with 20 minutes to play in your home opener against a Milwaukee side which finished last season 36th nationally in RPI? No problem for Valpo, as Sam Gountounas scored in the 72nd minute and Addy Joiner found the back of the net in the 88th minute to give the Beacons the 2-1 victory. It marked the first time Valpo won a match in regulation when trailing after 70 minutes since a 2-1 victory over Murray State Aug. 26, 2005.

Who Else?: Of course it was senior forward Addy Joiner with the match-winner against Milwaukee, the 20th goal of her Valpo career - just the sixth player in program history to reach that mark. Joiner is tied with Kendall Brown for fifth place in program history in career goals, just one shy of Emily King in fourth. It was her seventh career match-winning goal as well, also tied for fifth in program history.

Shooting With Accuracy: Joiner's two goals this year have come on eight shot attempts, a ratio slightly better than her career line of 20 goals on 92 shots. The 92 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 21.7% is easily the best of any of Valpo's most prolific goal scorers - second-best is Cory Griffith's 16.6% clip.

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.

Sam Scores Again: Joiner wasn't the first Valpo player this season to score multiple goals, as classmate Sam Gountounas beat her to the punch with her 72nd minute equalizer against Milwaukee. Gountounas previously found the back of the net with the match-winning goal in the opener against Chicago State. After scoring three goals in her first three seasons, Gountounas has two in the first four games of her senior campaign.

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. Joiner entered the 2024 campaign tied for sixth in program history with 18 career goals.

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 entered 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.

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.