Valparaiso (3-4-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Saturday, Sept. 20 - at Drake (3-3-3, 0-0-0 MVC) - 5 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team opens the MVC slate on Saturday evening as they make the trip to preseason conference favorite Drake.

Previously: Valpo closed out its nonconference schedule with a commanding 5-1 win at Western Illinois - a victory which featured four goals by the Beacons in the opening 20 minutes. The program's scheduled nonconference finale versus Chicago State was canceled at the Cougars' request.

Looking Ahead: Valpo returns home to Brown Field next Thursday as it hosts Illinois State before making the short trip to take on UIC next Sunday.

Following the Beacons: Saturday'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 139-135-50 (.506) 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: Drake holds the 8-3-2 advantage in the all-time series over Valpo, but it's been a much tighter series recently. In fact, since the start of the spring 2021 campaign, Valpo has the 3-2-1 edge. The Beacons looked poised to earn the win in last season's meeting on Brown Field as well, as a goal from Addy Joiner had them up 1-0 deep into the match, but the Bulldogs struck twice in the final six minutes to grab a 2-1 victory.

Scouting the Opposition: The favorites in the MVC preseason poll, Drake comes into Saturday's match with a 3-3-3 record this year, including most recently a 1-1 draw with Butler last Sunday thanks to a goal with 30 seconds to play. Eve Blakey has scored five of Drake's 14 goals this season, a mark which ties her for second in the Valley, and has assisted on two others as well. Addie Ford has seen the vast majority of playing time in goal and owns a 0.82 GAA and an .813 save percentage.

Opening Conference Play: This season marks the second time that Valpo will open MVC play against Drake, as the two sides kicked off conference action against each other on Brown Field in 2018. Since joining the Valley, Valpo owns a 3-3-2 in its first MVC match of the season.

A Lengthy Break: Due to the cancelation of Sunday's match, it'll be nine days between matches for the Beacons when they step on the field in Des Moines Saturday evening. Oddly enough, this is the second time in three years Valpo has had a long stretch without a match prior to its MVC opener - due to having a bye on the first match day of the 2023 conference slate, the Beacons went 11 days before their MVC opener that year, the longest stretch between regular season matches in program history.

A Big Win: The Beacons rolled to a 5-1 victory in their nonconference finale at Western Illinois, the five-goal output the program's largest since winning by an identical 5-1 scoreline against Chicago State Aug. 31, 2023. It was the program's largest road win since beating Youngstown State 6-0 Sept. 26, 2015.

Talk About a Quick Start: Of the five goals against the Leathernecks, 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.

Desiderio Does It Again: Eight matches into her collegiate career, and freshman forward Kiara Desiderio already has a pair of braces under her belt. Her most recent came last time out at Western Illinois, as she struck in the eighth minute with the eventual match-winner and the 11th minute for her second of the game. Desiderio also assisted on Valpo's opening goal, giving her a five-point match as she had three goal involvements inside of 11 minutes. Desiderio's five goals are tied for second among MVC players and are the most by a Valpo freshman since Vanesa Abad netted six in 2014. Earlier this year, Desiderio followed her brace against Purdue Fort Wayne with another goal veruss Eastern Illinois, becoming the first Valpo player with at least three goals in a two-match stretch since Addy Joiner netted four over a two-match span against Kentucky and Chicago State in August 2023.

Player of the Week: Desiderio was named MVC Player of the Week for her output against the Leathernecks, her second weekly award of the year from the conference office, as she was previously named MVC Freshman of the Week Aug. 26. She became 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. 

Three For Molly: Desiderio wasn't the only Beacon with three goal involvements at Western Illinois, as senior Molly O'Rear was part of three of the five goals as well. O'Rear assisted on Valpo's second and fifth goals of the match, the first multi-assist game of her career, and successfully converted a penalty kick in the 20th minute as well. The senior has six goals and seven assists for her career.

Goals Goals Goals: Freshman Martha Goddard opened the scoring against Western Illinois with the second goal of her collegiate career, while junior Tatum Coleman capped the five-goal output with her first collegiate goal early in the second half.

A Helping Foot: Goddard, who is tied for team-high honors with three asists, 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.

A Youthful Side: For the second straight season, the Beacons have the vast majority of minutes being played by underclassmen. Through the season's first eight matches, 83.7% of the minutes played by field players have come from underclassmen, including 41.8% by Valpo's freshman class.

Weekly Awards: Valpo already 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.

First Timers: With Tatum Coleman scoring in the win at Western Illinois, that makes five of the Beacons' six goal scorers who have netted their first collegiate goal this year. Molly O'Rear is Valpo's only goal scorer this season who came into the year with a collegiate goal to her credit.

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.

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.

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.