Valparaiso (2-2-1, 0-0-0 MVC)
Thursday, Sept. 4 - at Southern Indiana (1-5-0) - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 7 - at Illinois (5-0-0) - 1 p.m

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team returns to road action this week with a pair of trips, heading to Southern Indiana for a Thursday night matchup before facing off with Big Ten foe Illinois Sunday afternoon.

Previously: Valpo split a pair of home matches last week in similar fashion, surrendering a one-goal lead in a 2-1 loss to Eastern Illinois before bouncing back with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Wright State.

Looking Ahead: The Beacons conclude a stretch of three straight road matches at Western Illinois (Sept. 11) before returning home for Senior Day and their final nonconference match of the season against Chicago State (Sept. 14).

Following the Beacons: Thursday's match will be broadcasted live on ESPN+, while Sunday's fixture will be carried on BTN+. 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 138-133-50 (.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: Southern Indiana - First meeting

Illinois - The Fighting Illini hold a 2-0-0 advantage in the all-time series, but the two sides have not faced off since a 4-0 Illinois win in September 1999 at Eastgate Field.

Scouting the Opposition: Southern Indiana - The Screaming Eagles come into Thursday's match with a 1-5-0 record, but that one victory came against MVC opponent Southern Illinois last time out, a 2-0 win. Six different USI players have accounted for the team's six goals this season, while Anna Markland has seen the majority of action in goal and owns a 2.70 GAA.

Illinois - The Fighting Illini are enjoying their best start since 2004, having reeled off five straight wins to open the season entering this week - they play at Mizzou Thursday night before Sunday's matchup. Four of Illinois' five wins have come by a single goal, as goalkeeper Izzy Lee has surrendered just one goal this year and owns a .958 save percentage. Sarah Foley and Cayla Jackson have both found the back of the net twice.

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.

In-State Competition: Valpo looks to improve to 2-0-0 Thursday against fellow Hoosier State opponents this season, as the Beacons already hold a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne under their belt. In all, Valpo will play four matches this year against teams from Indiana, as it will face Indiana State and Evansville in MVC play.

Facing the Power Four: Sunday's match against Illinois is the program's first against a Power Four side since a 2-0 loss at #9 Notre Dame in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Beacons actually earned a 1-1 draw at Kentucky Aug. 27, 2023 in their last regular season match against a Power Four opponent. Valpo is looking for its first win over a Power Four program since a Sept. 5, 2013 1-0 win against Northwestern.

Goddard Gets Going: Freshman Martha Goddard was named the MVC Freshman of the Week after being involved in all three of Valpo's goals last week. The London native tallied an assist on the opening goal in Thursday's match against Eastern Illinois. Then, trailing 1-0 in the second half against Wright State on Sunday, Goddard recorded her first collegiate goal in the 56th minute before setting up Ashley Harvatin's eventual match-winner in the 65th minute.

Make It Three Straight: Goddard's pair of assists last week pushes her season total to three, one apiece in each of the last three matches. 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.

Weekly Awards: Just three weeks into the season, and Valpo already has a pair of MVC weekly award winners, as Goddard joined Kiara Desiderio, who was named MVC Freshman of the Week Aug. 26. 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 Goddard and Harvatin scoring in the win over Wright State, that makes four of the Beacons' five goal scorers who have netted their first collegiate goal this year- Alyssa Thomas and Kiara Desiderio have done so as well. Molly O'Rear is Valpo's only goal scorer this season who came into the year with a collegiate goal to her credit.

Long Live the King: It was two players from across the pond who teamed up for the Beacons' equalizer against Wright State on Sunday, as Goddard took a pass from fellow Englishwoman Daisy Boardman to tie the match. For Boardman, it was her first collegiate point in her third season in a Valpo uniform.

Three in Two: Freshman Kiara Desiderio followed up her brace against Purdue Fort Wayne Aug. 24 with another goal last Thursday against Eastern Illinois, giving her a team-high three goals on the season. Her three goals are already the most by a Valpo freshman since current senior Molly O'Rear netted four as a rookie in 2022. Desiderio became 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.

Finding the Back of the Net: Five matches into the season, and Valpo has yet to be shut out, scoring at least one goal in all five fixtures. With a goal on Thursday at USI, the Beacons would match a program record for most consecutive matches scoring a goal to start a season, as the 1998 and 1999 teams each opened their respective seasons scoring in six straight matches. The 2023 side also scored in each of its first five matches.

Consistency in the XI: All three matches in Valpo's three-match homestand at Brown Field featured the same starting XI, and it's a group which is heavy on the youth. Six of the eleven are freshmen, with another three sophomores - over that stretch, Kate Sheridan and Molly O'Rear are the only upperclassmen who have started.

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.