Valpo U Soccer Closes Season with Win at Evansville
When the day started, Valpo soccer freshman Lauren Hill (Austin, Texas/St. Michael’s Catholic Academy) had played just 46 minutes over four matches this season and hadn’t stepped on the park for over a month. But Hill was ready for her storybook moment when head coach John Marovich called her name Thursday at Evansville, as the rookie came on and stuck with a ball in the box to score her first career goal in the final minute of the first half. One of the first to greet her? Sister Kennedy Hill (Austin, Texas/St. Michael’s Catholic Academy), playing in her final career match and on the field alongside her younger sister when Lauren scored.
The day just got sweeter from there for the Beacons, as Kate Jeffery (Southampton, England/Barton Peveril Sixth Form College) and Kiara Desiderio (St. John, Ind./Hanover Central) found the back of the net in the second half to give Valpo a 3-0 victory over the Purple Aces in its 2025 finale.
How It Happened
– In a back and forth first half which featured solid chances both ways, Lauren Hill’s goal came out of a somewhat innocuous setup. Jeffery sent a speculative ball from just inside midfield towards the top of the 18-yard box, where an Evansville center back tried to head it back to her goalkeeper. But the goalie was not in position to corral it, and Hill smothered the Purple Aces’ other center back’s effort to clear the ball, perfectly positioned for the clearance effort to ricochet into the back of the net to give the Beacons the lead in the final minute of the first half.
– Valpo carried the 1-0 advantage into the second half, where it doubled its advantage in the 54th minute. A shot attempt from the top of the box from Brylie Walos (Hartland, Wis./Arrowhead) was blocked by an Evansville back and careened loose near the top of the six. Molly O’Rear (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) was first to the deflection and took a touch with her left knee before being wiped out by a knee-to-knee collision with Purple Aces’ keeper Allie Lammers. The referee immediately pointed to the spot, and it was Jeffery nominated to take the penalty for the first time in her collegiate career. While Lammers guessed correctly, Jeffery’s right-footed effort was perfectly tucked inside the left-hand post to make it a 2-0 lead.
– Desiderio put the match away in the 78th minute. The move started with Martha Goddard (London, England/Alleyns School) intercepting an Evansville pass in the Beacons’ attacking third. Goddard turned, took one touch and slid a pass to Desiderio, who ran onto it at the top of the box with a back on her back shoulder. Lammers came out to try to cut down the angle, but Desiderio deftly went to her right to get around the keeper, and nearing the end line slid the ball into the empty net inside the far post to close the scoring.
– With the match secured, Marovich was able to have his squad’s four seniors – O’Rear, Sheridan, Kennedy Hill and Hannah Gabriel (Northville, Mich./Northville) — on the field together as the clock struck 0:00.
Inside the Game
– The win matched Valpo’s largest margin of victory over Evansville in program history, as the 2006 and 2022 sides also beat the Purple Aces by a 3-0 final.
– The three-goal margin was the largest for the Beacons in a conference match since closing the 2022 regular season with a 4-1 win over Indiana State, and it was the largest in a road conference match since the 2015 team won 6-0 at Youngstown State in Horizon League play.
– The goals for Lauren Hill and Jeffery were the first of their respective collegiate careers — Hill’s came in her fifth career match and Jeffery’s in her 31st match.
– Desiderio found the back of the net for the seventh time this season, while Goddard’s assist on her classmate’s goal was her team-high fifth of the year.
– Kate Sheridan (Grand Rapids, Mich./East Grand Rapids) made four saves to earn her fourth clean sheet of the campaign.
– Evansville held a 19-13 advantage in shots, but each side put four on goal.
Inside the Season
– Valpo’s 2025 side was much improved from the previous season. The team’s winning percentage was 162 points this season as compared to last, while in MVC play, the Beacons earned eight more points this year despite there being one fewer conference match.
– That improvement came with youngsters playing big roles all over the field. Over 80% of the minutes played by field players this year came from players in one of their first two seasons of eligibility, including north of 40% from freshmen.
– The Beacons closed the 2025 season with a 2-1-1 record over their final four matches.
– Goddard tied Valpo’s record for assists by a freshman, finishing the year with five helpers to match Rachel Hoaglin’s 2009 rookie season. Overall, Goddard’s five assists are tied for fourth in a single season in program history and tied for second among MVC players this year.
– Desiderio paced the Beacons with seven goals this season, tied with Hoaglin’s aforementioned 2009 campaign and Lisa Springs in 1998 for the third-most goals by a freshman in program history. She also ranks third among Valley players in goals this year.
Inside the Careers
– As mentioned, the quartet of Gabriel, Kennedy Hill, O’Rear and Sheridan were on the pitch together to close out their time in a Valpo uniform together at the end of Thursday’s win.
– Gabriel made four appearances for the Brown and Gold, starting last Sunday against Murray State on Senior Day.
– Hill saw the field 28 times over her four seasons, starting on two occasions.
– O’Rear counted 66 starts among her 73 appearances over her four-year career, playing a total of 4,764 minutes. She tallied nine goals and seven assists — five goals and three assists of which came this season.
– Sheridan ended with two clean sheets in her final three appearances to give her four career clean sheets — tied for ninth in program history. She made 28 total appearances in goal and recorded a .726 save percentage.
Thoughts From Coach Marovich
“This win is big, because it’s the continuation of the process and building with this group. As you’ve seen our team play over the last month, you’ve seen them really start to formulate that rhythm. It’s a young group that’s trying to improve, and they have ups and downs, but ultimately they just kept forging through and today was a culmination of that upward trajectory we’ve had in this last month.”
“The sad part of it is that we don’t get to keep going forward with games this fall, but I think today solidifies the fact that we’re progressing well as we continue to do the work. We’re excited about the spring and next fall, because I think we’re doing the right things and the players are showing that.”
“I’m really excited that Lauren and Kennedy were on the field together when Lauren scored her goal —that’s a big moment for them as sisters, and then Kennedy being her final collegiate game.”
“To get that penalty, and then Kate being able to put that away for Molly since Molly had to come out of the match, that was a huge moment as well. Then Kiara finishes it off with her seventh goal of the year in another big moment.”
“I felt like we did really great work today. Our wingers did a good job on the flanks, getting crosses into the box and becoming dangerous. Getting a shutout today as well was another performance where you look over our last few games with this group, they’ve done a really good job in the defending end, so what a special way for Kate to end her collegiate career.”
“It was great to be able to get Hannah onto the park for the final few minutes, to let her close out her career playing alongside her teammates. And then Molly, with the work she’s put in and the things she’s done for our program over the last four years, the way she earned the PK today really encapsulates the work she’s put in. Today was a great way for us to say goodbye to these seniors and have their last memory be a win on the road.”