Sept. 10, 2005
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - To say the Boilermakers are frustrated would be an understatement. The frustration, at this point, must be boiling over to anger.
The last seven minutes of Utah's 2-1 victory at Ute Field was symbolic of the 2005 Purdue soccer season thus far. A year in which little has gone the Boilermakers' way.
Down by a goal, head coach Rob Klatte moved defender Kim Comisar up top to provide some extra offense. The opportunities presented themselves accordingly, but no successful conversions followed. A header by Lauren Sesselmann sailed high of the net by an inch; attackers Parrissa Eyorokon and Jill Sarbaugh were mugged on breakaway attempts, and a service by Rebecca Robison to Sesselmann flew too far.
The loss dropped Purdue's record to 1-4, while the Utes extended their season-opening unbeaten streak to 5-0. The Boilermakers were held to 11 shots, their lowest total of the season, while the Utes recorded 20. Only three of Purdue's 11 shots were taken during the second period.
Melissa Wayman provided the go-ahead score off an assist from Amanda Feigt, eight minutes after Purdue tied the match at 1-1. Wayman's shot, taken outside the right corner of the 18-yard box, rainbowed over the head of Purdue goalkeeper Lauren Mason, who finished the match with seven saves.
Purdue knotted the match at 1-1 on a Comisar goal in the 50th minute. Sarbaugh was credited with the assist after slotting the ball to the senior near the left side of the goal box; Comisar quickly one-timed her shot into the lower right corner for her first goal of the season.
Utah, playing in its first home night game, brought the overflow crowd of 1,141 to its feet in the 40th minute after Adele Letro posted her second goal of the season. Letro received the pass from Jen Christoffers, then eluded a pair of Boilermakers in the goal box before rifling her shot into left side.
Prior to that shot, the Utes didn't have many clear looks at the net, despite launching 11 first-half shots (five on goal). By comparision, six of Purdue's eight first half shots were on goal. Utah's Ashley Mason completed the first frame with six saves, while her Boilermaker counterpart recorded four.
Ashley Mason was not required to make another save the rest of the match.
Utah was victimized by few errors, occasionally missing a cross or sending a shot high or wide. The Utes controlled most of the match due to its considerable size advantage over the Boilermakers. The average Purdue position players stands at 5-6, while the Utes' average height is about 5-8. This height and size advantage helped the Utes at midfield, as they won a number of headers to pass up to attackers.
The Boilermakers dodged the bigger Utes during the early portion of the first half, but couldn't break the goalkeeper, nor their streak of bad luck. After being denied by Ashley Mason three times, a shot by Comisar slipped away from the Utes' netminder; however, no Boilermaker was in range to punch in the rebound. The three first half Purdue corner kicks came within a span of three minutes, but none came close to crossing the goal stripe.
Sesselmann led the club with five shots, four of which were registered in the first half. All three of her on-target headers were snared by Ashley Mason.
Defensively, Purdue played well until Utah received its second wind late in the first period. The Boilermakers easily cleared three corners and Kira Bilecky and Amy Burrell were credited with blocked shots. The second half was a different story as the Boilermakers allowed nine more Utah shots, four of which were on goal.
Purdue returns home Tuesday, Sept. 13 for a 4:30 p.m. match against Butler. The Boilermakers' weekend opponents are defending Big 12 champion Kansas on Friday and nationally ranked Nebraska on Sunday.