Sept. 28, 2001
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's soccer team tied the seventh-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions today at the Varsity Soccer Complex, 1-1, after two overtime periods. The Boilermakers improve to 4-3-1 (1-1-1 Big Ten), while PSU moves to 5-2-1 (1-0-1 Big Ten).
"Today, I thought we played with a lot of heart," said Purdue head coach Rob Klatte. "We combined a lot of things and stayed very organized and in the end, it's not about the stats. We did an excellent job of creating several opportunities and we didn't give up or give away anything, even when we were down with only eight minutes to go. We created chances and that was what was important."
The Boilermakers came out strong and enthusiastic, as they headed down the field right from the whistle. But it was obvious that Penn State knew Purdue had come ready to play and picked up its level of play down by the Purdue goal.
Tallying nine corner kicks in the first half, Penn State had several chances, but came up short as the Boilermaker defense held tight and remained organized.
The game continued with Penn State taking up most of the clock at the Purdue goal, but the Nittany Lions were unable to convert on any quality shots until the 80th minute, when Bonnie Young found a way to bend the ball into the goal off of yet another PSU corner kick.
Despite their disappointment that the ball had found its way into the net, the Boilermakers fought back and headed down the field toward the Penn State goal.
Then, at the 87th minute mark, junior Jessica Baumhoff found sophomore Jenna Silverman and lobbed the ball in for a headed shot from the left side to tie it up at 1-1 with only two and a half minutes left to play in regulation.
"I think it let the whole team down when they scored that goal with so little time left," said Klatte. "But then, when Jenna was able to put a great header away, it really was a sting in the tail for Penn State that put us right back in the game."
The clock continued to count down and went to the first 15-minute overtime period. Right away, Penn State's Christie Welsh headed down field with the attack shot, but senior Purdue keeper Elizabeth Boldt handed the ball for another save.
Two minutes later, Welsh was awarded a yellow card for unsportsmanlike conduct, but the Boilermakers weren't able to make the final push and the period ended with no score.
The second overtime period provided just as much action as the previous 105 minutes had, with both teams being awarded free kicks about 30 yards out. For PSU, Welsh took the kick, but the Boilermakers had built a strong wall that she could not penetrate. For Purdue, Baumhoff took the kick and lobbed the ball over the Nittany Lion wall and found sophomore Annette Kent. Kent had a solid look, but was just wide.
"I don't think we earned a point today that we didn't deserve," said Klatte. "But, we do need to reorganize and get ready to play Ohio State on Monday, because they will come ready to play."
In the goal for Purdue, Boldt played 120 minutes and saved nine shots, while allowing one goal. She improves her goals-against average to 1.00.
In the goal for Penn State, Emily Oleksiuk played 120 minutes and saved three shots, while allowing one goal.
The Boilermakers tallied a total of 13 shots with five on-goal, compared to the Nittany Lions' 25 shots with 10 on-goal. Penn State also out-cornered Purdue 19-0.
The Boilermakers will return to the field on Monday, Oct. 1, to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at 4 p.m. at the Varsity Soccer Complex. The game is rescheduled from Sunday, Sept. 30, at 1 p.m. Scout Day and all activities with Scout Day will take place on Monday during halftime.
-P-