Valparaiso (3-7-4, 0-2-3 MVC)
Thursday, Oct. 23 - Belmont (3-4-7, 1-2-3 MVC) - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 26 - Murray State (7-4-4, 2-1-3 MVC) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team returns home to Brown Field for its final two home matches of the season this week, as the Beacons host Belmont Thursday evening before welcoming Murray State on Senior Day Sunday afternoon.

Previously: A goal late in the first half from Martha Goddard equalized the Beacons' match at Southern Illinois last Sunday, and the score remained level the rest of the way, as the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw. Kate Sheridan made six saves in goal for Valpo.

Looking Ahead: Valpo closes the regular season next Thursday, Oct. 30 at Evansville.

Following the Beacons: Both of this week's matches will be carried on ESPN+. All home matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+ as part of The Valley on ESPN, while select road fixtures will also have live video available. 

Head Coach John Marovich: In his 18th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 139-138-53 (.502) 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: Belmont - Valpo holds a 6-4-0 advantage in the all-time series, with the two sides splitting the four matchups since Belmont joined the MVC. The Bruins got the better of the Beacons last season in Nashville, winning by a 4-0 final.

Murray State - Valpo owns a 5-3-1 edge in the series, but the Racers have the 2-1-1 advantage since they joined the MVC. That includes a 2-1 Murray State victory last season in Murray - Addy Joiner gave the Beacons the lead just 1:42 into that contest before the Racers rallied with two second-half goals.

Scouting the Opposition: Belmont - The Bruins come into Thursday's fixture at 3-4-7 overall and with a 1-2-3 record in MVC play, most recently playing to a 2-2 draw with Indiana State. Laken Whittington has scored a team-high three goals on the year, while Sydney Jones has played the vast majority of minutes in goal and owns a 1.17 GAA and an .800 save percentage.

Murray State - The Racers enter the week with a 7-4-4 overall record and a 2-1-3 mark in MVC play, and have won two in a row - most recently a 3-2 win over Evansville. The Racers will play at UIC Thursday before coming to Brown Field on Sunday. Breece Bass and Mary Hardy share team-high honors with four goals apiece this season, while Griselda Revolorio has been the regular in goal, owning a 1.51 GAA and a .753 save percentage.

Celebrating the Seniors: Valpo will recognize four players on Sunday on Senior Day at Brown Field. Molly O'Rear, Kennedy Hill and Kate Sheridan came in together in the summer of 2022 and were part of that season's MVC regular season champion squad. Hannah Gabriel, who will be graduating early, joined the aforementioned trio the next year as the quartet were part of the MVC Tournament champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

Getting a Point: Valpo snapped the Salukis' three-match home winning streak last time out by earning the draw at SIU. The Beacons became the first MVC team to deny the Salukis the full three points at home this season.

Fit to Be Tied: Valpo's draw with SIU was its fourth overall this year and its third since the start of MVC play. The three ties in MVC play is tied for second-most in a conference slate in program with the 2003 and spring 2021 squads - only the 2023 team (four) had more draws within conference action.

Goddard Got a Goal: Freshman Martha Goddard picked up her third goal of the year last time out to help the Beacons earn the tie at SIU. Goddard now has six goal involvements this season (3g, 3a), but Sunday's was her first in MVC play.

Walos Gets On the Board: Goddard was set up on the goal by classmate Brylie Walos, who in doing so racked up the first assist of her collegiate career.

The Senior Scores: Senior Molly O'Rear found the back of the net for the fourth time this season, matching her freshman year total, as she opened the scoring against UNI. O'Rear is tied for sixth among MVC players in goals, tied for the team lead and eighth among MVC players in assists (3)  and tied for seventh in points (11). She now has 15 goal involvements for her career - eight goals and seven assists.

Cool as Coleman: Junior Tatum Coleman delivered the assist on O'Rear's goal versus the Panthers. After going her first two seasons at Valpo without tallying a point, Coleman has five this season with one goal and three assists, the latter tied for team-high honors.

Desiderio Delivers: Freshman Kiara Desiderio continued her standout season at UIC, as the rookie found the back of the net early in the draw with the Flames for her sixth goal of the campaign. Her six goals are good for third in the Valley, are the most of any MVC freshman and are tied for seventh-most nationally by a freshman. She also ranks third among Valley players with 13 points as well.

More on Kiara: Desiderio has been honored twice by the MVC this season, being named MVC Player of the Week Sept. 16 and MVC Freshman of the Week Aug. 26. She was the first Valpo freshman to earn one of the non-freshman weekly awards from the MVC since Nikki Coryell was a two-time Defensive Player of the Week in the spring of 2021 as a rookie. She owns a pair of braces this year, striking for two goals apiece in wins over Western Illinois and Purdue Fort Wayne.

Freshman Scoring Chart: Desiderio's goal against UIC moved her into a tie for fifth place for goals scored by a freshman in program history, joining Vanesa Abad (2014) with six. Kendall Brown (2005) and Sarah Jewell (2006) share the program record for goals by a freshman with 10, while Lisa Springs (1998) and Rachel Hoaglin (2009) tallied seven goals apiece in their respective rookie campaigns.

A Helping Foot: Martha Goddard, who is tied for team-high honors with three assists, tallied those assists in three consecutive matches Aug. 24-31. The three assists are the most by a Valpo freshman since Cierra Welch tallied three in 2019, while Goddard is the first Valpo player with a helper in three straight contests since Grace Rogers closed out the 2017 season with an assist in each of Valpo's final three matches.

Quick Starts: Desiderio wasted no time getting on the scoresheet at UIC, finding the back of the net with just 3:34 having ticked off the clock. It was the quickest goal by a Valpo player since Addy Joiner scored 1:42 into the Beacons' match at Murray State on Oct. 20 last season. 

Meanwhile, of Valpo's five goals in its nonconference finale at Western Illinois, four of them came in quick succession in the first half, as the Beacons found the back of the net in the sixth, eighth, 11th and 20th minutes to put four on the board inside a third of an hour. Valpo set a new program standard for the earliest into a match it has hit the back of the net four times, while it was the quickest Valpo has put three on the board since opening up with three goals in 6:02 at Green Bay Oct. 31, 2014.

A Youthful Side: For the second straight season, the Beacons have the vast majority of minutes being played by underclassmen. 83.4% of the minutes played by field players this year have come from underclassmen, including 42.0% by Valpo's freshman class.

Weekly Awards: Valpo has three MVC weekly award winners this year, as Desiderio's pair of honors are joined by Goddard's Freshman of the Week award Sept. 2. It is the first time Valpo has had multiple different players named MVC Freshman of the Week in the same season since Abby White, Dana Fish and Addy Joiner earned the honor once apiece during the 2021 season - that trio would go on to be instrumental in the 2022 MVC regular season championship side and the 2023 MVC Tournament championship team.

Valley Adjustments: The round-robin Missouri Valley Conference slate has been shortened by one match this season, as with the departure of Missouri State, the MVC has a nine-game conference schedule for its 10 teams. In addition, the conference tournament will feature the top-six teams in the regular season standings, an adjustment from what was previously an eight-team field.

Preseason Honoree: Senior Molly O'Rear represented the Beacons as she earned preseason First Team All-MVC accolades. O'Rear has been a constant presence in the midfield for Valpo over her first three seasons, appearing in 56 matches and making 49 starts while playing a total of 3,579 minutes. She was an MVC All-Freshman Team selection as a rookie in 2022, when she scored four goals and tallied a pair of assists. O'Rear was a vital component of the program's MVC regular season title in 2022 and the team's MVC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2023.