It was great to have Peyton and Allie back for extended minutes as they continue to work back from injuries.” “As they have all year, everyone who stepped on the field tonight played their part, from the starters to the late subs to help see out the win.
“The ownership our players have taken this season and their willingness to offer suggestions towards our game plan has been awesome to see - on the training ground leading into this game, we had players put in secondary actions on set pieces based off what they saw that we were able to use in the game.” Then, after we scored the goal, we did a good job shifting our formation and seeing out the game.” When we built through the middle of the field, we were able to create opportunities going forward. “I felt like how we managed the game tonight was ultimately why we got the result. To get three points on the road is fantastic, and I’m happy not only with the result, but with how we played and how we built.” “I continue to be so proud of this group.
James’ Olimpico in the second half was her seventh of the season, not only a team best, but leading the MVC as well.963 save percentage in conference action after making five stops tonight and a 0.20 GAA as Valpo has surrendered just one goal in its first five Valley matches. Coryell recorded her fourth solo shutout of the season, all of which have come within MVC play.The Beacons now have seven shutouts as a team this year. Within this seven-match winning streak, Valpo has posted six clean sheets.The last two seasons have seen Valpo come away with a draw and a win in its matchups with the Bulldogs. Valpo entered Wednesday night’s match 0-6-2 against Drake in program history and earned its first victory over the Bulldogs.With nine wins this season to date, Valpo is just one victory away from the 10 th 10-win season in program history.The victory pushes the Beacons to a perfect 5-0-0 in Valley play, again matching just the 2014 team which finished 8-0-0 in Horizon League action for the best start to conference play.This is just the fourth winning streak of at least seven straight fixtures in program history, joining the 2014 squad’s 12-match winning streak, an eight-match winning streak by the 2006 team and a seven-match winning streak by the 2009 side. Valpo has now won seven consecutive matches dating back to Sept.From there, the Beacons successfully saw out the game, surrendering just a pair of shot attempts and one corner kick over the final 18 minutes as they closed out their seventh consecutive victory.The sophomore stood over the corner kick from the right corner flag and took a perfectly-struck inswinger which curved into the upper-left corner to give Valpo a 1-0 lead with less than 20 minutes to play. That just set the stage for James’ heroics, however.One match after scoring the first goal of her career, senior Morgen Metzger (Grand Blanc, Mich./Grand Blanc) had a great chance at her second in as many contests, but her 72 nd-minute effort was tipped over the crossbar by Drake goalkeeper Kelsie Stone.Sophomore goalkeeper Nikki Coryell (Aurora, Ill./Metea Valley) made a nice save to her right in the 59 th minute to keep the Bulldogs off the board.Valpo had the better of the first 45 minutes, out-shooting Drake 8-3 in the first half and putting five shots on goal, but the two sides went into halftime still scoreless.The win - Valpo’s seventh in a row - was the program’s first-ever victory over the Bulldogs and improved the team to 5-0-0 in MVC play. The perfect run through the Missouri Valley Conference slate continued Wednesday night for the Valpo soccer team, as a 72 nd-minute goal from sophomore Kelsie James (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) directly from a corner kick stood up as the match-winner as the Beacons defeated Drake by a 1-0 final Wednesday in Des Moines.