VALPARAISO, Ind. – The Missouri State women's soccer team fell to Valparaiso, 2-1, in a hard-fought Missouri Valley Conference match at Brown Field on Saturday afternoon.
The difference maker came in the 59th minute when Valpo's Kelsie James launched a left footed laser that found the upper left corner of the net to give Valpo a 2-0 lead and ultimately the win.
Anna Durnin got the Bears on the board in the 68th minute when she made a nice hustle play to score off Valparaiso keeper Nikki Coryell's misplay after a shot from Bears senior Siera Fury.
"We started the match very well despite playing against a strong wind," Missouri State head coach Rob Brewer said. "The initial 30 minutes looked promising for us as we maintained control and created some quality chances. The opening goal by Valpo was very much against the run of the play. Valpo was strong to start the second half and doubled their lead. Anna Durnin scored off a rebound shot by Sierra Fury late, but the energy was not there on the end of a three-game week. I am proud of the effort and determination we showed but we came up a little short."
Offense was hard to come by in the first 20 minutes of play as the only shot came from MSU's Jacqueline Baetz at the 18:57 mark. However, things picked up as both teams combined for 12 shots in the remainder of the half.
The hosts took the early 1-0 lead when Val Dusatko scored off an assist from Keegan Maris in the 38th minute. After the goal, Valpo threatened twice before the half, putting two shots on goal but Kaitlyn Maxwell corralled both shots to preserve the one goal deficit going into the break.
Kara Privitera came very close to scoring in the 66th minute of play when she drew the Valpo keeper out of the goal before sending a shot towards the net, but the Valparaiso backline was there to make a team save.
MSU led a furious attack in the final minutes to try to knot things up. Jade Loftness's header in the 84th minute nearly tied things up when Baetz set her up off a corner kick, but the shot deflected off the crossbar.
Overall, Valpo outshot the Bears, 17-14 and 7-4 in shots on goal, while finishing with a 5-5 tie in corner kicks. The foul margin was equal as well with both teams committing 11.
Maxwell finished her day with five saves, while Coryell of Valparaiso had two saves.
The Bears (3-7-2, 1-4-1 MVC) will conclude their season on Wednesday when they host Southern Illinois at Allison South Stadium. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. and the match will be televised on either ESPN3 or ESPN+.
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