Valparaiso (4-8-4, 1-3-3 MVC)
Thursday, Oct. 30 - at Evansville (7-6-2, 3-4-1 MVC) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team wraps up the 2025 campaign on Thursday afternoon as it makes the trip for an in-state matchup at Evansville.

Previously: Valpo split a pair of matches last week, as the Beacons downed Belmont 1-0 behind a Molly O'Rear goal and 10 saves from Kate Sheridan before falling on Senior Day to Murray State by the same 1-0 final.

Following the Beacons: Thursday's match 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 140-139-53 (.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 is Valpo's all-time leader in victories.

Series Notes: Evansville enjoys a 10-5-6 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo, but the series has been dead even since Valpo joined the MVC - 3-3-4 in 10 matchups. Last season, the two sides played to a thrilling 3-3 draw on Brown Field, with the Purple Aces finding the last equalizer in the 89th minute.

Scouting the Opposition: The Purple Aces enter Thursday's match at 7-6-2 on the season and are 3-4-1 in MVC play - their 10 points have them inside the tournament field entering the final match day. Evansville split its road swing through the state of Iowa last week, beating UNI, 2-0, before falling to Drake, 1-0. 11 different players have combined for the Purple Aces' 20 goals, led by four from Taylor Wehrer, while Brielle LaBerge has tallied a team-best five assists. Three-time MVC Goalkeeper of the Week Allie Lammers owns a 0.82 GAA and an .833 save percentage.

Coming to a Close: The loss to Murray State on Sunday erased the Beacons' chances at making the six-team MVC Tournament this season. Valpo currently has six points, while sixth-place Evansville sits out of reach on 10 points.

Wrapping Up Careers: Valpo bade farewell to a quartet of players on Senior Day Sunday at Brown Field, as Molly O'Rear, Kennedy Hill, Kate Sheridan and Hannah Gabriel were all recognized. O'Rear, Hill and Sheridan were members of Valpo's MVC regular season championship side in 2022, while Gabriel joined the program prior to the 2023 season which saw the Beacons claim the MVC Tournament title and go to the NCAA Tournament. All four players started on Sunday - Gabriel made her first career start, while Hill started for just the second time.

One Final Time for O'Rear: A four-year starter in the Beacons' midfield, Molly O'Rear has seen action in 72 matches and started 65 times entering her final career match on Thursday. An MVC All-Freshman Team honoree as a rookie in 2022 when she scored four goals and tallied two assists, she has enjoyed her finest statistical season this year, recording five goals and three assists - most recently scoring the match-winner last Thursday against Belmont, the third match-winning goal of her career. O'Rear is tied for sixth among MVC players this season in both goals and points.

Sheridan With the Shutout: After biding her time behind Nikki Coryell her first two seasons, Kate Sheridan has been a regular in goal for the Beacons the last two years. She has dropped her goals against average over a full goal from last season to this season, entering Thursday's contest with a 1.58 GAA this year. She posted a clean sheet in last Thursday's win over Belmont, making 10 saves - the second-highest total of her career. With three shutouts, Sheridan is tied for 10th on the Beacons' career chart in the category.

Good as Goddard: Freshman Martha Goddard picked up her team-high fourth assist of the season, tied for fifth-most among MVC players, against Belmont as she set up O'Rear for the match-winner. Goddard owns the most assists by a Valpo freshman since Keegan Maris tallied four as a rookie in 2017. Three of Goddard's helpers came in consecutive matches early in the season, making her the first Valpo player since Grace Rogers in 2017 with an assist in three straight fixtures. Goddard has seven total goal involvements this season, as she has found the back of the net three times as well.

Desiderio Delivers: Freshman Kiara Desiderio has found hte back of the net six times this year, tied for the fifth-most goals by a freshman in Valpo history. Her six goals are good for third in the Valley, are the most of any MVC freshman and are tied for ninth-most nationally by a freshman. She also ranks sixth among Valley players with 13 points.

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.

A Youthful Side: For the second straight season, the Beacons have the vast majority of minutes being played by underclassmen. 83.5% of the minutes played by field players this year have come from players in one of their first two seasons of eligibility, including 41.2% 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.