Valpo (4-5-1, 0-1-0 MVC)
Sunday, Sept. 27 - Indiana State (6-1-3, 1-0-0 MVC) - 1 p.m.

Next Up in Valpo Soccer: The Valpo soccer team continues MVC play with the final match of its four-match homestand Sunday afternoon, capping off Homecoming and Family Weekend on campus with a matchup against Indiana State.

Previously: The Beacons opened MVC action last Sunday against defending regular season champion and preseason favorite Drake, falling 4-0 to the Bulldogs.

Looking Ahead: Valpo hits the road for the first time in nearly a month next weekend, making the trip to Murray State for a Sunday afternoon match.

Following the Beacons: This week's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+, and live stats will be available at ValpoAthletics.com. 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 19th season at the helm of the Valpo program, John Marovich holds a 145-144-54 (.501) 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 is Valpo's all-time leader in victories.

Series Notes: One of the most common opponents in program history, Valpo holds a 14-5-2 advantage in the all-time series over the Sycamores. Valpo had won five in a row in the series between March 2021 and September 2023, but ISU has won the last two matchups, including a 3-0 decision in Terre Haute last season.

Scouting the Opposition: Indiana State comes into Brown Field Sunday with a 6-1-3 record this year, most recently emerging victorious by a 2-0 count this past Sunday in its MVC opener against UNI. The Sycamores have scored 17 goals in their nine contests against D-I opponents this year, led by three goals from Emely Lopez in those fixtures. Sofie Hansen has seen the vast majority of action in goal, boasting a 0.71 GAA and an .806 save percentage.

To Score or Not to Score: It's been pretty simple most of the season for the Beacons - if they score, they're in good shape for a result. They have scored at least one goal in six of their 10 matches and own a 4-1-1 record in those matches - in fact, in all six matches, they found the back of the net at least twice. On the other hand, they've been held scoreless on four occasions, resulting in four of their five defeats.

In-State Foe: Sunday's match is the third of four this season for Valpo against fellow Hoosier State programs. The Beacons defeated both Indiana-based teams they faced in the nonconference, earning identical 2-0 wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Southern Indiana.

Hoosier State Crown: Since Valpo joined the MVC prior to the 2017 season, it has claimed the unofficial Hoosier State crown among the Valley's three Indiana-based schools on four occasions, doing so in four consecutive seasons from the spring of 2021 through the 2023 campaign. Indiana State has had the highest point total in matches between the Indiana schools three times, including each of the last two years, while Evansville has done so twice. Since joining the Valley, the Beacons have accrued 33 points against ISU and UE, while ISU has tallied 24 points in such matches and UE 18.

Home Sweet Home: It will be nearly a month between road trips for Valpo, as the Beacons closed nonconference play with a pair of home matches before opening the MVC schedule with two matches on Brown Field.  It is the first time Valpo will have played four straight home matches since playing five in a row back in the Eastgate Field days in September and October 2008. The 28-day stretch between games away from home will be the longest such stretch in program history.

Ki Does It Again: Sophomore Kiara Desiderio was named the MVC Player of the Week for the second time in her career on Sept. 14 after a big week on the attack. After entering the week with two goals and one assists in the season's first seven matches, Desiderio knocked home a pair of goals in the win over Oakland and then was involved with both goals in the win over USI with a goal and an assist. She has now had multiple goal involvements in three matches this season and five for her career, including three career braces.

Another Brace for Martha: Sophomore Martha Goddard recorded her second brace of the season in the win over Oakland and followed it up with a goal against Southern Indiana, accounting for both match-winning goals in her three-goal weekend as she boosted her season total to six goals. Desiderio and Goddard became the first Valpo teammates to both score twice in a single match since Kendall Brown and Sarah Jewell each scored a pair Oct. 8, 2006 in a victory over Lewis.

First-Time Honoree: While Desiderio earned her third career weekly honor from the MVC office with her Player of the Week accolade Sept. 14, senior Daisy Boardman earned a weekly award for the first time as she was recognized as the MVC Defender of the Week. Boardman played 170 of a possible 180 minutes at right back as the Beacons surrendered just one goal over their final two nonconference wins, while adding her first assist of the season on the attack versus Oakland. Boardman was just the third Valpo player to be honored as Defender of the Week since the Valley broke goalkeeper and defender into two separate weekly awards starting in 2023.

Multiple Weekly Winners: Desiderio and Boardman teamed up to mark the seventh time multiple Valpo players have earned MVC weekly accolades in the same week since Valpo joined the Valley. It was the first such instance since Sept. 26, 2022, when Addy Joiner, Nikki Coryell and Nicole Norfolk swept the player, goalkeeper and defender weekly honors.

Nonconference Success: With wins in each of their final two nonconference fixtures, the Beacons closed out their nonconference slate at .500 with a 4-4-1 record. This is the fifth time in the last seven seasons that Valpo has finished .500 or better in the nonconference schedule.

Putting Away Goals: With six goals over its last two nonconference wins, Valpo bumped its season total to 16 goals. It was the program's highest goal total entering its first conference match since the 2005 side tallied 17 goals prior to its Mid-Con opener. The Beacons scored multiple goals in six of their nine nonconference matches.

Preseason Honoree: Coming off a rookie campaign in which she was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, sophomore Kiara Desiderio was named to the Preseason All-MVC Team. Desiderio, who became Valpo's first Freshman of the Year since joining the Valley and was also a Second Team All-MVC choice, kicked off her Beacon career with a team-high seven goals in 2025 — tied for third-most by a freshman in program history. She ranked third in the MVC in goals and fifth in points (15), while also being tied for seventh nationally in goals by a freshman.

Who's Back: The Beacons return 16 players who saw action on the pitch last season, including eight regular starters. That group accounted for 73.4% of the team's minutes played by field players in 2025, including six players who played over 1,000 minutes - led by junior Ashley Trippeer, who played 1,397 minutes.

Who's Gone: Valpo graduated four seniors from last year's squad and had five other offseason departures. Notably, Second Team All-MVC honoree Molly O'Rear and starting goalkeeper Kate Sheridan were among the group of seniors.

Who's New: The Beacons welcome nine new players to the program this season: seven true freshmen, one Division I transfer and one Division III transfer.

Good as Goddard: Sophomore forward Martha Goddard returns for her second season in the Brown and Gold after a strong rookie campaign. An MVC All-Freshman Team selection, Goddard tallied three goals and recorded five assists, the latter mark matching the program record for assists by a freshman. She was tied for second in the MVC in assists and tied for fourth on Valpo's overall single-season chart. Goddard became the first Valpo player to register an assist in three consecutive contests since 2017.

Looking Back at Last Year: Valpo posted a 5-8-4 overall record in 2025 and went 2-4-3 in MVC play, earning eight more points in the Valley than the previous season despite playing one fewer conference game and raising its winning percentage 162 points year-over-year. The Beacons scored 21 goals while surrendering 28 goals, improving their goal differential by 21 goals over 2024. This all came with the vast majority of field player minutes coming from underclassmen, as the 2025 Beacons had 41.2% of their field player minutes played by freshman and 42.3% by sophomores. Kiara Desiderio was named the MVC Freshman of the Year and was joined by Molly O'Rear on the Second Team All-MVC, while Martha Goddard joined Desiderio on the MVC All-Freshman Team.