Valparaiso celebrates Valley championship

WSOC: A complete look at Valpo's journey back to the NCAA tournament

One by one the members of the Valparaiso women’s soccer team walked off the bus into the frigid November air on Sunday night.

The bus that had served as their home away from home for the last two weeks, taking them to Cedar Falls for wins over Belmont and Northern Iowa in the opening rounds of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. The bus that brought them back to Valparaiso for less than 72 hours and then returned them to Iowa for a semifinal victory over Missouri State. The bus that served as a five-hour dance party on Sunday after the Beacons knocked off Drake 1-0 in the Valley championship match.

The bus that delivered the Beacons to the foot of the Victory Bell, where dozens of fans awaited to sing the fight song, ring the bell and celebrate a new reality.

The Valparaiso women’s soccer team are NCAA tourney bound.