Valparaiso (1-1-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Thursday, Aug. 28 - Eastern Illinois (1-3-0) - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Aug. 31 - Wright State (1-2-0) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The final two games of the Beacons' three-match homestand come this week, as Valpo hosts Eastern Illinois on Thursday night and Wright State on Sunday afternoon. The latter match is part of the program's alumni weekend, welcoming back former players and celebrating the 20-year anniversary of the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference championship side.

Previously: The Beacons opened their home campaign on a high note on Sunday afternoon, taking down Purdue Fort Wayne by a 3-0 final. Kiara Desiderio scored her first two collegiate goals in the victory, while Kate Sheridan registered her first collegiate clean sheet in goal.

Looking Ahead: It's back to the road next week for Valpo, with trips to Southern Indiana (Sept. 4) and Illinois (Sept. 7) on the docket.

Following the Beacons: Both matches this week will be broadcast on ESPN+, with Todd Ickow and Danny Jeftich on the call, and will have live stats available via ValpoAthletics.com. Thursday's match will also have a student radio call on WVUR (95.1 FM, Valparaiso). 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 137-132-50 (.508) 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 Illinois - Valpo narrowly trails EIU in the all-time series, 8-7-3. From 1995 through 2002, the Panthers held a 7-0-1 advantage, while Valpo was 7-0-2 from 2003 through 2023. Last season, EIU snapped Valpo's nine-match unbeaten streak in the series with a 1-0 win in Charleston.

Wright State - The Raiders hold an 11-3-5 advantage in the all-time series, but it was Valpo which came away with a 2-1 victory last season in Dayton, thanks to a pair of goals from Kaleigh Shafer - the second of which hit the back of the net with just 2:04 to play. Notably, each of Valpo's last four home games against Wright State (2011, 2013, 2015, 2019) have resulted in draws.

Scouting the Opposition: Eastern Illinois - The Panthers, who were picked fifth in the OVC preseason poll, come into Brown Field with a 1-3-0 record - they own a 1-0 win over IU Indy, and fell to Southern Illinois (4-0), Akron (1-0) and Ball State (4-0). Alex Tettah has the EIU attack's lone goal, while Ella Kratochvil has started three of the four matches in goal, including the win over the Jaguars.

Wright State - The Raiders enter the week with a 1-2-0 record, beating Fairmont State (4-0) while falling to Dayton (2-0) and Louisville (7-2). WSU will take on Marshall Wednesday night before traveling to town for Sunday's match. Five different players have accounted for the Raiders' six goals, with Caitlin Burger netting a pair and also adding an assist.  

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.

Who's Back: 13 position players and one goalkeeper who saw action in 2024 for Valpo return in 2025, including seven regular starters.

Who's Gone: The Beacons will need to replace nearly half of their minutes played from last season, most notably the departure of graduate Addy Joiner, who finished her decorated career among the program's all-time leading goal scorers.

Who's New: Chomping at the bit to be the next group of Beacons to get Valpo back to among the MVC's best are 11 newcomers to the roster in 2025. The group of first-year players on Union Street include seven true freshmen and four transfers - three from other Division I programs and one from junior college.

Celebrating 2005: This year marks the 20-year anniversary of the first conference championship for the Valpo women's soccer program. The 2005 side shared the Mid-Continent Conference regular season title with a 4-2-0 record, and then avenged its two conference losses in the Mid-Con Tournament with wins over Southern Utah (2-0) and Oakland (3-1) to win the tournament title and go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The squad would run it back the next year with a second consecutive Mid-Con regular season crown.

Notables From Last Game: Tidbits from the 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne:
 - The three-goal win was Valpo's largest winning margin since a 5-1 triumph over Chicago State on Aug. 31, 2023.
 - Valpo fired off 22 shots, its largest shot total since a 24-shot effort against Belmont on Oct. 15, 2023.
 - It matched the largest win in a home opener in program history — the 2017 side won its home opener 3-0 against Grace.
 - Valpo has now won its home opener in each of the last four seasons; a win Thursday would be just the second time in the last seven seasons the Beacons have started 2-0-0 at home (2023, started 3-0-0 en route to 3-0-3).

Delivering Up a Brace: With over 200 goals to her name during her prep career, 81 of which came in her senior year alone, it's no surprise that freshman Kiara Desiderio knows how to find the back of the net, and she needed just three matches at the collegiate level to open up her account. Desiderio struck first in the 13th minute to push the Beacons' lead to 2-0, and then put the cherry on top of the victory with a goal inside the final minute. She is one of two Valpo freshmen in the last nine seasons to tally a brace, the other of which was Valpo's last brace by any player - Kaleigh Shafer last season in the win at Wright State.

Weekly Awards: Just two weeks into the season, and Valpo already has its first Valley weekly award winner under its belt, as Desiderio was tabbed the conference's Freshman of the Week Tuesday morning. She is Valpo's first winner of the Freshman of the Week award since current senior Molly O'Rear picked up the honor on Sept. 20, 2022.

A Helping Hand: Three Beacons tallied assists on Desiderio's pair of goals on Sunday. Her first goal was set up by fellow rookie Martha Goddard, the first collegiate point for the London native. The primary assist on Desiderio's second goal went to Tatum Coleman for her second assist this season, while the secondary assist went to Molly O'Rear - her first this year and the fifth of her career. In addition, while she doesn't get credit for an assist, it was a well-taken corner by Brylie Walos which was knocked in for an own goal by the Mastodon defense.

No Goals Allowed: While the attack was taking care of business against the Mastodons, Kate Sheridan was holding down the fort in goal on the other end en route to earning the first clean sheet of her career. Sheridan made four saves to keep Purdue Fort Wayne off the board, including a couple of highlight-reel efforts.

Youth in the XI: The word 'freshman' seemed to be echoing around Brown Field during the introduction of the Beacons' starting XI on Sunday against Purdue Fort Wayne. In all, six players in their first season of collegiate competition were named to the XI, three of whom - Martha Goddard, Ashley Harvatin and Brylie Walos - were making their first collegiate start. Additionally, three sophomores were on the pitch to start the match as well, leaving Kate Sheridan and Molly O'Rear as the lone upperclassmen in the starting group.

Run of Play Defense: While Valpo surrendered three goals over its first two matches, none of them came against the Beacons in the run of play - two were penalties, and the third a free kick from just outside the 18. Following Sunday's clean sheet against Purdue Fort Wayne, it's now 270 minutes of soccer to open the year without giving up a run of play goal.

Back on the Scoresheet: Molly O'Rear converted Valpo's penalty kick in the 61st minute at Oakland for her fifth career goal. It had been a long time coming, though, as each of O'Rear's previous four goals came during her freshman campaign. The goal against the Grizzlies was her first since finding the back of the net against Indiana State Oct. 23, 2022.

Scoring Early: It took the Valpo attack less than 11 minutes into the season to find the back of the net in the season opener at Detroit Mercy, as Alyssa Thomas headed home a cross from Tatum Coleman. Thomas' goal came in her Beacon debut, the second straight season Valpo has had a player score in her debut in the Brown and Gold - Ashley Trippeer did so in last year's season opener at Chicago State.

On the Horizon: Valpo is getting a heavy dose of Horizon League competition early in the 2025 campaign. Having already played Detroit Mercy, Oakland and Purdue Fort Wayne over the season's first two weekends, Sunady's match versus Wright State means Valpo opens the season with four Horizon League opponents in its first five matches.

Old Friend Alert: This weekend brings the third of four matches on the nonconference schedule versus opponents that Valpo previously shared conference affiliation with, as it joined Wright State in the Horizon League from 2007 through 2016. Valpo and Detroit Mercy were Horizon League opponents from 2007 through 2016, while Valpo and Oakland faced off as members of the Mid-Continent Conference from 1999 through 2006 and as Horizon League foes from 2013 through 2016. On opening weekend, Valpo took on Detroit Mercy (Horizon, 2007-2016) and Oakland (Mid-Con, 1999-2006; Horizon, 2013-2016), while later this fall, the Beacons face off with Western Illinois (Mid-Con, 1999-2006). Valpo also was in the Mid-Con with Chicago State prior to joining the Horizon League, but the Cougars did not sponsor women's soccer at that point.

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.

Looking for Nonconference Success: Valpo is looking to continue its run of successful results prior to conference play that it has enjoyed over the past few years. Last year's side posted a 4-4-0 record in nonconference action, the fourth time in the last five seasons the Beacons finished .500 or better in nonconference play.

Looking Back at Last Year: The Beacons finished the 2024 campaign with a 4-13-1 overall record, including a win over eventual Horizon League regular season and tournament champion Milwaukee. Beset by injuries, Valpo had 41% of its field minutes played by freshmen during the 2024 season - only one other MVC program had more than 25% of its field player minutes played by freshmen.