Valpo's Pedersen Earns Women's Soccer Player of the Week Award

INDIANAPOLIS -- Valparaiso senior midfielder Casey Pedersen (Northville, Mich.) has been named Horizon League Women’s Soccer Player of the Week, for the week of Oct. 17-23.  The award is the first of Pedersen’s career.

Valparaiso (8-6-3, 4-2-1 Horizon) clinched a first round match at Eastgate Field in going 1-0-1 last week, collecting a 1-0 victory over Butler before a 2-2 draw with Wright State on Sunday. The Crusaders sit third in the Horizon League standings and will earn the No. 3 or No. 4 seed in the Horizon League Tournament.

Pedersen played a role in all three Valpo goals, assisting on the game-winning tally against Butler, sending a touch pass to Mikki Nuccio, who converted the goal with five seconds left in the first half. On senior day, Pedersen evened the score with her third goal of the year, pushing a penalty kick past the Wright State keeper. Pedersen added an assist 28 minutes later, temporarily putting Valpo ahead 2-1 in the eventual draw.

Valparaiso will wrap up its regular season on Friday, Oct. 28, when the Crusaders travel to northeastern Ohio to take on Youngstown State (3-10-3, 0-5-2 Horizon). The match will begin at 3 p.m. ET, live on the Horizon League Network. A win gives Valpo the No. 3 seed in the Horizon League Tournament, which will get underway on Tuesday, Nov. 1.

Top Performers for the Week:

• Katie Griswold, Butler (So., F) - Griswold helped Butler clinch a spot in the Horizon League Tournament, burying a penalty kick to help the Bulldogs collect a key 2-0 win at Green Bay. With her sixth goal of the year, Griswold moved into a tie for the team lead.
• Taylor Vidovic, Cleveland State (So., F) - The sophomore led the way as Cleveland State collected an important League win against Youngstown State, 2-1. Vidovic potted both goals in the match and now leads the Vikings with six goals and 13 points in 2011. 
• Nora Abolins, Detroit (So., GK) - Abolins’ shutout streak came to an end, but the sophomre bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Wright State by shutting out Cleveland State in a scoreless draw. With three saves, Abolins recorded her eighth shutout of the year and 15th in her career. 
• Katie Groesch, Loyola (Sr., GK) - After holding No. 10 Milwaukee without a goal in the second half, Groesch notched a shutout in a 1-0 win over Youngstown State on senior day. Groesch ranked fifth on the Loyola career list with 250 saves in her career. 
• Kelsey Holbert, Milwaukee (Fr., F) - Holbert helped No. 10 Milwaukee remain unbeaten in Horizon League play, tallying the game-winning goal in a 3-0 win at Loyola. The freshman finished the week with four shots in two matches.
• I’esha King, Wright State (Sr., D) - Continuing her scoring streak, King collected the game-winning goal in Wright State’s 1-0 win at Detroit before assisting on the match’s first goal in a 2-2 draw at Valparaiso. Over her last three matches, King has three goals and an assist. 

Women’s Soccer Players of the Week:
August 15: Sarah Hagen, Milwaukee
August 22: Kaitlyn Quarrell, Detroit
August 29: Jamie Forbes, Milwaukee
September 5: Nancy Newcomer, Cleveland State
September 12: Rachel Hoaglin, Valparaiso
September 19: Sarah Hagen, Milwaukee
                            Maddie Drusch, Green Bay
September 26: Sarah Hagen, Milwaukee
October 3: Nora Abolins, Detroit
October 10: I’esha King, Wright State
October 17: Casey Pedersen, Valparaiso