It was a typical Missouri Valley Conference battle Thursday evening at Brown Field, and at the end of the day, the honors were even, as the Valpo soccer team played Illinois State to a 0-0 draw.
 
How It Happened

• It was a struggle for control of the opening half. Illinois State had the better of the first 20 minutes or so before Valpo started to turn the field and get downhill on its attacks.
• At the end of the opening 45, the two sides went into the locker room scoreless.
• The second half was more of the same, as the teams tried to find a rhythm. Illinois State got more speculative late, recording nine shots in the final 15 minutes, but the Beacons were able to keep the Redbirds at bay.

 
Inside the Match

• Thursday's result capped a night in which four of the five MVC matches ended in draws. In all, six matches through two match days have been ties, meaning that the Beacons are just one point out of fourth place.
• The draw was the third out of the last four meetings between the two programs.
• It was Valpo's first 0-0 draw since a similar tussle at Brown Field back on Sept. 28, 2023 against Missouri State. Notably, that was also the program's conference home opener that season.
• Senior Kate Sheridan (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) made four saves in the goal for the Beacons, including a nice stop while going to ground in the 88^th minute, to record the second clean sheet of her collegiate career.
• Four Valpo field players went the full 90 on Thursday, while five other starters saw at least 70 minutes of action as the Beacons used a season-low three substitutes.

 
Thoughts From Coach Marovich
"Tonight was a very prototypical MVC match – very tightly contested, physical, everything you would expect from a Valley competition. We would have loved to get three points, but at the same time, every single point is so valuable, so we'll take it."
 
"I thought our players rose up and stepped up to the moment in the match tonight. We had a lot of good performances in terms of individual defending and marking inside the area, which allowed us to come away with the clean sheet."
 
"There's a lot of positive takeaways from tonight — things that we did well that can be built on and progress as our group continues its growth."
 
Next Up
Valpo (3-5-2, 0-1-1 MVC) makes the short trip to Chicago Sunday afternoon to face UIC. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+.