Valparaiso (4-6-0, 0-2-0 MVC)
Sunday, Sept. 29 - at UNI (5-4-1, 0-2-0 MVC) - noon

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: It's a light week of competition for the Valpo soccer team, as the Beacons enjoyed a bye in the Thursday match slot before hitting the road for the first time in Valley play, heading to UNI Sunday afternoon.

Previously: The Beacons dropped their first two MVC matches of the season last week, falling 1-0 to Indiana State despite a strong shot advantage over the Sycamores and dropping a 2-1 decision to Drake after the Bulldogs scored two goals in the final 10 minutes.

Looking Ahead: Valpo plays a second consecutive road game next Thursday, heading to central Illinois to take on Illinois State. The Beacons then return home to Brown Field for Senior Day Oct. 6 against Southern Illinois.

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 136-124-48 (.519) 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 enjoys a 7-4-2 advantage in the all-time series with UNI and is 4-3-2 against the Panthers since joining the Valley. Three of those four victories have come in the last three matchups, including a pair of shutout wins over the MVC's most prolific offense last season. The Beacons earned a 2-0 win at home over UNI on Oct. 19, getting goals from Nicole Norfolk and Lindsey DuSatko while Nikki Coryell made four saves. 10 days later, in Cedar Falls for the MVC Tournament second round, it was a 1-0 win for Valpo behind a Kelsie James goal and five saves by Coryell.

Scouting the Opposition: UNI comes into Sunday's match at 5-4-1 overall this year, but is also 0-2-0 in Valley play, falling to UIC and Missouri State to open the MVC schedule. Olivia Knoepfle and Lauren Heinsch share team-high scoring honors with four goals apiece. In goal, Caitlin Richards has seen the vast majority of action, with a 2.08 GAA and a .635 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.

Looking For Points: Sunday's matchup pits the two sides sitting on zero points in the MVC table against each other. For Valpo, since joining the Valley in 2017, it has garnered at least three points from its first three MVC matches in six of the seven seasons. The only exception was the 2019 campaign - Valpo started 0-4-0 that year before rebounding to win two of its final three matches and qualify for the MVC Tournament.

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 Sunday's game atop the MVC scoring chart, as she scored her fifth goal of the season last Sunday against Drake to open the scoring. With a pair of assists to her credit, Joiner leads the MVC as well 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.

Nonconference Complete: The Beacons finished the nonconference slate with a 4-4-0 record. It is the fourth time in the last five seasons that Valpo has finished at or above .500 in nonconference action.

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. 

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 19-9-10 within regular season MVC matches - a mark which improves to 19-7-10 with the removal of two matches versus departed conference foe Loyola.