Valparaiso University

For the second straight match day, the Valpo soccer team battled its opponent to a scoreless draw, this time doing so on the road at Illinois State Thursday afternoon. The tie left the Beacons one point outside of the six-team MVC Tournament and thus brought the 2026 season to a close.
 
How It Happened

• The two sides combined for just nine shot attempts in the opening 45 minutes as the match went into halftime scoreless.
• The first 35 minutes of the second half were nearly as benign, featuring just 10 combined shot attempts, most of them low-level threats.
• But it seemed like a switch was flipped once the clock ticked under 10 minutes to play. It started with the equivalent of a super-short corner for the Redbirds at the edge of the box, one which resulted in a close-range effort that Salange Bell (Montclair, N.J./Montclair Kimberly Academy [Montclair State]) snuffed out.
• That save was followed by two more stops by Bell in fairly quick succession as the junior helped keep the Beacons' tournament hopes alive.
• The field started to flip towards Valpo in the final few minutes, with the Beacons having three quality efforts in the final four minutes. Kiara Desiderio (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) had a shot in the 87^th minute from 15 yards out heading towards the upper-right corner before reigning MVC Goalkeeper of the Year Madi Valenti dove to push it up and over the bar.
• Off the ensuing corner kick, Daisy Boardman (Warrington, England/Bridgwater) gained possession just outside the box and let loose a shot which was aimed inside the right-hand post, but Valenti was on the spot to push it away.
• Finally, inside the final minute, Martha Goddard (London, England/Alleyns School) won the ball on a pass ahead, leaving her marker behind her as she faced a 1-on-1 with Valenti. With a secondary defender bearing down on her, Goddard shot at the top of the box and attempted to go along the floor to the far post, but Valenti smothered the shot.

 
Inside the Game

• Valpo entered the match knowing it would need a victory and either Belmont or Indiana State to drop points to make the MVC Tournament field. With about four minutes left in the Beacons' match, Belmont's contest against Murray State ended in a 2-2 draw, meaning that if any of the last-minute efforts had found the back of the net, Valpo would have made the tournament.
• The Beacons and Redbirds have tied in four of their last five meetings, including three 0-0 draws — two of which have come in the last two years.
• Illinois State joins Evansville and IU Indy as the teams that Valpo has had three 0-0 draws in program history against.
• Two days after being named the MVC Goalkeeper of the Week, Bell made a season-high nine saves to earn her second straight clean sheet and her fourth of the season.
• Illinois State held a 16-10 edge in shots and put nine shots on goal to Valpo's five.

 
Inside the Season

• Valpo ended the year with a 6-8-4 overall record, improving its winning percentage for a second straight season.
• The Beacons posted a 2-4-3 record in MVC play, their nine points just one shy of the 10 that put Evansville into the MVC Tournament field.
• Goddard moved into a tie for seventh in program history in a single season with her nine goals, while her 19 points are tied for 10^th on that chart. The sophomore's nine goals are second-most of any MVC player at the end of the regular season.
• Desiderio racked up 65 shot attempts, seventh-most in a single season in program history.

 
Thoughts From Coach Marovich
"It was a solid and incredibly hard-fought performance today by the squad. They competed for that last playoff spot until the last second. Kiara had a great strike in the last minutes and Martha with under a minute to play, but the GK made big saves."
 
"This group just battles every night and put themselves in positions to get big results, but unfortunately, we fell just a point or two short. I'm so proud of all of them for the way they have continued to honor the tradition of the program, and the tears today are an example of how much this means to all of them — not just the matches but the environment they have every day with each other."
 
"We are losing a senior group that has experienced success and absolutely honored the program they came into four years ago. I want to give a giant thank you of gratitude for Daisy, Tatum, Carly, Julianna, Alex, Emma and Eve. They have been great ambassadors for the women's soccer program and Valparaiso University. They will be missed."