Women’s Soccer falls in battle at Indiana State

Twice, the Valpo women’s soccer team rallied from one-goal deficits in the second half Saturday night at Indiana State behind strikes from junior Lauren Torhorst (Waterford, Wis./Waterford Union), but the Sycamores found a third goal which stood up as the match-winner as Valpo fell by a 3-2 final score.

How It Happened

-          Indiana State went on top just past the midway point of the first half, finding the back of the net in the 25th minute. Celeste Wahlberg tallied the goal off a helper from Jensen Margheim.

-          The match went into halftime with the Sycamores ahead, but it took just mere seconds out of the intermission for Valpo to level the match. Torhorst struck in the opening minute of the second half to make it 1-1.

-          Indiana State re-claimed the lead in the 52nd minute on a goal from Sidney Ewing, assisted by Danielle Varner.

-          But it was just 90 seconds later that Valpo would again even the match, this time at 2-2, and again it was an effort from Torhorst to complete her brace.

-          Both sides had opportunities to go ahead, but it would be Indiana State which scored the eventual match-winner in the 77th minute on a shot from Serra Hanrahan, assisted by Katie Sidloski.

-          Valpo had a pair of shot attempts in the closing minutes of the match, but neither were on frame, as the Sycamores closed out the win.

Inside the Match

-          Torhorst’s brace was the first by a Valpo player since Cory Griffith netted a pair of goals in last year’s season finale, ironically also against Indiana State.

-          Torhorst doubled her career account tally on Saturday night, as she entered the match with two career goals.

-          The junior had gone more than two calendar years between goals, however, as her previous tally came on Sept. 30, 2017 at Drake.

-          After Indiana State out-shot Valpo 9-3 in the first half, the Crusaders held a 9-7 advantage after intermission.

-          The Sycamores put seven shots on goal to Valpo’s five. Junior Kezia Gesell (Winnipeg, Man./Glenlawn Collegiate Institute) made four saves for Valpo, while ISU’s Hannah Sullivan stopped three shots to earn the win.

-          Saturday’s loss was Valpo’s first to Indiana State since 2003. It was also the program’s first loss when scoring multiple goals since falling 3-2 at Oakland in the 2016 Horizon League Tournament.

Next Up

Valpo (0-11-1, 0-2-0 MVC) returns home to Brown Field next Saturday night to host Illinois State. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m.