Crusaders Suffer Heartbreak In League Tournament Opener
The Valparaiso University women’s soccer team claimed a 2-0 lead in the first round of the Horizon League Championship Monday night in Rochester Hills, Mich. thanks to goals with three minutes of either side of halftime from freshman Maria Broecker (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester), but Oakland rallied with three second-half goals to send the Crusaders to a 3-2 defeat.
How It Happened
- Valpo got on the board in the 43rd minute thanks to a somewhat unlikely source in Broecker, who had not seen the field for over a month before Monday’s fixture. Freshman Ava Porlier (Downers Grove, Ill./South) kept possession in the attacking third under pressure and poked a ball to senior April Cronin (Glenview, Ill./Glenbrook South) down the right side. Cronin sent a cross in from the right along the ground, and Broecker was there to knock it in from the top of the six-yard box to make it 1-0 Valpo with her first career goal.
- In the 49th minute, it was again the Crusaders finding the back of the net as they doubled their lead. Sophomore Cory Griffith (Lemont, Ill./Providence Catholic) carried the ball down the left and, from the top corner of the 18, sent a ball in towards goal. Broecker was there to corral it and sent a chip over the sliding Oakland goalkeeper inside the right post to make it 2-0 Valpo.
- A goal off a rebound in the 67th minute by Sydney Duggan for the Golden Grizzlies cut Valpo’s advantage in half, but the Crusaders would maintain the lead into the final 10 minutes.
- Heartbreak would strike for Valpo in those final minutes, however. Oakland’s Sierra Grodsinsky leveled the match at 2-2 with a goal in the 83rd minute, and Brooke Miura scored in the 87th minute with the deciding tally.
Inside the Match
- Broecker was the fourth different Crusader to record a brace this season, joining Cronin, Porlier and Griffith – who finished the year with a pair of two-goal efforts.
- Broecker’s two goals on Monday came on her only two shot attempts of the season.
- Cronin’s assist on Broecker’s opening goal was the senior’s team-high fifth of the year – tied for third-most in program history and just one off the single-season record. Cronin closed out her Valpo career with 25 goals (second in program history), 11 assists (tied for third), 61 points (second) and 10 match-winning goals (tied for first).
- Cronin’s 21 points were sixth-most in a single season in program history, while with her assist, Griffith finished the campaign with 17 points – just one shy of Valpo’s single-season top-10.
- Monday’s defeat ended the careers of an octet of Valpo seniors – Cronin, Sydney Galvez-Daley, Robin Wenzel, Kelsie Bolerjack, Krista Carlson, Vanesa Abad, Michelle Mottonen and Danielle DeSciscio.
- While she was sidelined due to injury much of this season, Galvez-Daley finished atop Valpo’s career GAA chart, departing Valpo with a 0.80 GAA. She also posted 14 career clean sheets, fourth-most in program history.
- Freshman Tess Barrett (Tinley Park, Ill./Providence Catholic) posted a 1.17 GAA this season, the eighth-best single-season mark by a Crusader goalkeeper all-time.
- With the loss, the Crusaders fell to 0-5-0 in Horizon League Championship action in road matches since joining the league prior to the 2007 season.
Thoughts From Head Coach John Marovich
“It was a night of tremendous emotional swings. Maria did a great job of coming in off the bench and giving us fresh legs – scoring right before the half and then again right after halftime. Cory hit a ball off the crossbar, which could have really changed the match, but instead we conceded a goal shortly after. These emotional swings take a toll on all the players.”
“Oakland really pushed players forward late to get the equalizer and we struggled to get solid clearance out of our defensive end. Unfortunately, the last nine minutes didn’t end the way we would have hoped, but it will be the fuel as we move forward.”
“It’s a very difficult night to say goodbye to our seniors who have given so much to our program, and I hurt greatly with them. I’m so proud of this group for how they continued to fight, and our locker room tonight just shows how great it is to be a part of the Valpo WSO family.”
Anderson Provides Fastest Hat Trick in NCAA History in Victory over IUPUI
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Valparaiso University men’s soccer player Kendan Anderson (Portmore, Jamaica / St. George’s College [South Florida / ASA College]) transformed Monday’s matinee with nonleague foe IUPUI into a game he won’t soon forget. The Valpo senior scored three times in 1:21, the fastest three consecutive goals by an individual player in NCAA history, to help the Crusaders down the Jaguars 5-0.
Anderson shattered SIU-Edwardsville’s John Slone’s NCAA record of 2:15, which had stood since 1985. In addition, only 15 seconds elapsed between Anderson’s first and second goal, tying for the sixth-fastest pair of goals by a single player in NCAA history.
How It Happened
- Anderson’s first goal, which increased Valpo’s lead to 3-0, came at 83:37 on a penalty kick.
- When IUPUI attempted to put the ball back in play following the goal, Anderson intercepted the pass and scored on a breakaway around the goalkeeper into an open net at 83:52.
- Anderson completed the hat trick from 10 yards out on the right side at 84:58, with Adan Garcia (Dallas, Texas / Episcopal School of Dallas) receiving the assist.
- Sophomore Demar Rose (Kingston, Jamaica / Wolmer’s Boys School) accounted for Valpo’s first goal, lobbing it over the goalkeeper’s head from 25 yards away in the 18th minute.
- Isaiah Madrid (Albuquerque, N.M. / Eldorado [Florida Gulf Coast]) scored his third goal in the last two matches off a set piece in the 24th minute. He took a free kick from 20 yards out and put it inside the left post.
- The Crusaders set the tempo by controlling possession for the bulk of the first half. The Jaguars were unable to register a shot attempt in the match. Valpo outshot IUPUI 16-0, with nine of those shots coming on goal.
Inside the Match
- Valpo matched the program record for wins in a single season with Monday’s triumph. The Crusaders are at 10 victories for the second time in program history and first since 2009, when they finished 10-7-2.
- Anderson’s hat trick was the eighth in program history and the first since Paul Leitelt on Aug. 27, 2006 against Evansville. Anderson now has eight goals this season despite missing the first seven matches with injury.
- With Monday’s goal, Madrid became the sixth player in program history to reach a double-figure goal total in a single season. He has 10 goals on the year, tied with Tony Dal Santo for fifth all-time. The last Valpo player to rack up 10 goals or more in a single year was Scott Daly in 2001.
- Madrid also lifts his point total to 25, becoming the first Valpo player with 25 points in a single season in the last 25 years. The most recent Crusader to hit that precipice was Brian Thiel in 1991.
- Senior goalkeeper Nico Campbell (Kingston, Jamaica / St. George’s College) notched his sixth shutout of the season and the 21st of his Valpo career. He is two clean sheets away from the program record.
- After going four years between five-goal wins, the Crusaders turned in back-to-back five-goal victories on Saturday and Monday.
- Rose’s goal was the first of his collegiate career. The Crusaders have 10 players with at least one goal this season.
Thoughts from Head Coach Mike Avery
“It's the second game in a row where we have been able to open a team up and create loads of good opportunities, so there is not much to really nitpick about as I evaluate our performance today. No pun intended given that it is Halloween, but today was a tricky game. We played less than 48 hours ago, it was an odd start time for us, we have a big conference game on Friday, and IUPUI is clearly a better team than their record would indicate - tons of reasons we might not have been sharp or mentally prepared for the game. Given all that, though, I thought the guys were mature and professional in their approach, had some very good periods of possession, and obviously took the chances pretty well.
Now all our attention turns to Friday and the opportunity to host a very good Wright State team. There is a lot on the line for us with playoff qualification and seeding, and we have the hardest path in the league because we play the group that has been the best team so far, but I also think we are playing the best we've played all year. If we were ever up for a challenge, now is the time.”
Next Up
The Crusaders (9-4-3, 4-2-2 Horizon League) host Wright State (10-5-2, 6-1-1) in the regular season finale on Friday at 7 p.m. at Brown Field. The game can be heard on WVUR, 95.1 FM Valparaiso, with links to live audio and stats available on ValpoAthletics.com.
