This week's Missouri Valley Conference women's soccer players of the week include Megan Nemec of Loyola; Michaela Kirschten of Illinois State; and Audrey Stephens of Indiana State.
LUC .. Three Peat
Loyola continued an unprecedented run of success under head coach Barry Bimbi this past week, downing both Indiana State, 5-1, and Southern Illinois, 5-0, to secure its third consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular season title, marking the first time in program history that the Maroon & Gold have won three straight regular season conference titles in program history. Since the start of the 2018 season, Loyola owns a dominant 19-1-1 record (.929) in Valley play and has gone unbeaten in its last 21 matchups against MVC foes.
Weekly Women's Soccer Notebook (PDF)
Offensive Player of the Week
Megan Nemec, Loyola
So., F/MF, Tinley Park, Ill.
Nemec spearheaded the attack for the Ramblers in the final third, as the Maroon & Gold posted a pair of five-goal efforts. In Wednesday’s 5-1 road win over Indiana State, Nemec tallied her first goal of the season and dished out a pair of assists. The Tinley Park, Ill. native was back at it in Sunday’s 5-0 blanking of Southern Illinois at Loyola Soccer Park, finishing with two goals and two assists as Loyola clinched its third straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season title. Nemec’s 12 overall points (3 goals, 6 assists) on the year lead The Valley.
Defensive Player of the Week
Michaela Kirschten, Illinois State
So., D, Hillsboro, Ore.
Sophomore centerback Michaela Kirschten went the full-90 minutes in ISU’s 2-0 victory over UNI on Thursday, anchoring a backline that allowed only four shots on goal in the shutout. Playing every minute of every game so far this year, Kirschten’s leadership has helped the Redbird defense post three shutouts this season, all occurring in Valley play.
Freshman of the Week
Audrey Stephens, Indiana State
Fr., F, North Aurora, Ill.
Stephens made her first career goal a memorable one, finding the back of the net in the 98th minute against Missouri State Sunday afternoon. Stephens, who started her first career match earlier in the week against Loyola, played 78 minutes in the overtime thriller against the Bears. The goal gave ISU its first win over Missouri State in Springfield since 2013.
Scheduling Update
The Missouri Valley Conference rescheduled the Drake-Missouri State women’s soccer match for Wednesday, March 31, and moved the Missouri State at Valparaiso women’s soccer match from April 2 to Saturday, April 3.
The Drake-MSU match was originally scheduled for Wednesday, March 24, in Des Moines, Iowa, but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues within Drake’s Tier 1 personnel, which consists of student-athletes, coaches, managers and staff. The March 31 match will begin at 1 p.m. CT on will air on The Valley on ESPN. The MSU-Valpo match was originally scheduled for Friday, April 2, in Valparaiso, Ind., and will now be played on Saturday, April 3, with a noon CT start time.In the event any league match is not played, league standings will be determined by points per match (not total points).
- MVC Matches Scheduled/Played: 36/26
- MVC Matches Postponed/Rescheduled: 2/1
- Games Canceled: 1
VALPO ... Stymieing Opponents
The Valpo defense is posting one of the top campaigns in program history, as the Brown and Gold have surrendered just six goals in the season’s first nine games. The team has posted four shutouts and has allowed more than one goal just once so far this year.
ILS .. Leading the League
Redshirt senior Abby Basler continues to be one of the biggest offensive threats in the Missouri Valley Conference, as she ranks first in shots on goal (13), tied for first in goals scored (four), second in points (10) and tied for third with two assists. Basler has also entered ISU’s all-time top-10 lists in goals (ninth, 18 goals) and points (T-ninth, 51 points).
UE .. Minding the Nets
UE has started three goalies this season with Michaela Till, Lauren Fischer and Georgia Katsonouri all seeing complete game time. Between the three UE has only given up two goals, faced 60 shots and made 25 saves. Sophomore goalkeeper Georgia Katsonouri and junior midfielder Reilly Paterson have been called up by their respective national teams. Katsonouri was a part of the Cyprus team back in November of 2020 to play in the UEFA Women’s Euro qualifiers. Paterson will join the Jamaican national team camp in April, with games being played in Spain.
INS .. Making History (Again)
Indiana State’s 1-0 clean sheet of Missouri State elevated the Sycamores’ record to 4-2 in league action, tying the program record for most wins in Missouri Valley Conference play. The OT winner also marked the first overtime win for ISU since the 2013 season. The Sycamores’ shutout of Missouri State on Sunday marked the fourth shutout in Missouri Valley Conference play this season, the most for ISU in Valley in program history.
DU .. Bulldogs Edge Aces
Drake continued its winning streak (3) in its history against the Aces and are now 14-10-1 after a 1-0 win on Sunday night. Hannah Bormann’s goal was her first of the season and seventh of her career. Notably, Drake started freshmen Amelia Crabtree and Lily Overstreet, making them the only freshmen to start for the Bulldogs this season
MSU ... Bear Bits
Of MSU’s 28 players, 16 are freshmen or sophomores, making them one of the youngest teams in The Valley. Two-time MVC goalkeeper of the year Kaitlin Maxwell made her return to the net as she made two saves while allowing one goal in 98 minutes of action. It was Maxwell’s first appearance since Oct. 22, 2020. Her 235 career saves rank fourth all-time as well as her 10 career shutouts and 4,396 minutes in goal. Senior Emma Skornia has not missed a single match in her MSU career appearing in all 67 contests.
UNI .. LaFollette Connects
Izzy LaFollette led the Panther offense in two games last week. LaFollette recorded 3 shots on goal with 1 goal while leading the Panthers to a 1-1 record. The Panthers fell to the Redbirds 2-0 while LaFollette recorded 1 shot and 1 shot on goal in 25 minutes on the field. LaFollette scored the team’s only goal against Valparaiso while finishing with 2 shots on goal in 31 minutes.
SIU .. Wrapping It Up
The Salukis wrap up their initial season in the MVC with a pair of matches this week, facing Illinois State in the home finale over the weekend and then taking on Missouri State on April 7 in Springfield. Maddy Alaluf has been solid in goal, recording three shutouts this season and ranking among the league leaders with 4.00 saves per game.