Oct. 14, 2005
By Mikey Walsh
Purdue Sports Information
MADISON, Wis. - No. 23 Purdue escaped from the claws of a hungry Badgers team Friday night at the McClimon Sports Complex, winning 1-0 on a Parrissa Eyorokon goal in the 89th minute.
The win was Purdue's fourth in-a-row, improving its overall record to 9-5 and its Big Ten record to 5-1. The loss for Wisconsin further crippled its postseason chances, as the Badgers dropped to 6-8-2 overall and 1-6-1 against the conference.
The Badger defense was one of the best Purdue has faced over the last month, but it made the mistake of leaving Eyorokon unattended in the goal box, thus giving her the chance to punch back Shauna Stapleton's shot that first hit off the left post.
Wisconsin goalkeeper Lynn Murray, who finished the match with four saves, dove to block Stapleton's shot, leaving Eyorokon with the wide-open net.
Stapleton was credited with the assist, which was her first of the season.
Eyorokon's goal was her second of the week. Sunday at Ohio State, Eyorokon scored on a similar play, burying a Kalie Grambeau shot that first hit off the bottom of the crossbar.
Purdue was outshot 18-13, including 10-4 in the first half. However, it all came down to finishing shots, which Wisconsin had great difficulty in accomplishing.
"The final score of this game should have been 4-3 or 3-2, but they just couldn't finish," said head coach Rob Klatte. "Sesselmann should have had two goals, but their goalkeeper made some great saves. A win is a win, though, and the three points we earned tonight won't say how we won or if we should have won."
The Boilermakers played a better second half, outshooting the Badgers, 9-8, but they were also more proficient in their passing attack, which led to the greater number of scoring opportunities. Sesselmann twice had open looks at the net after receiving crosses into the goal box, but Murray made a dive on her first shot and later caught a bullet in the chest from point-blank range. Murray also saved a Jill Sarbaugh diagonal.
In the first half, the Boilermaker offense was simply outplayed, as it made too many turnovers at midfield and in the attacking third of the field. Other times, Purdue would just get caught looking the wrong way.
After clearing out a Wisconsin corner kick in the 43rd minute, the Boilermaker attackers started to break away from the pack, but Jayme-Lee Biamonte was tripped up near the end line, symbolizing a very frustrating first half. Even Purdue's leading scorer, Jessica Okoroafo, was held shotless in the first half, as she was regularly being stonewalled by the Badger back line, led by defender Marisa Brown.
"I don't know if they were the best defense we've faced, but they were definitely the fastest," said Okoroafo, who was held to two shots. "We weren't able to get a lot of passes through, because one would stay up to defend and the others would drop back and pick off the ball."
Okoroafo recorded her first shot a minute into the second half, but it skipped over the top of the crossbar.
The Badgers received more than a few golden opportunities to light the scoreboard, but the ball kept managing to bounce the Boilermakers' way.
Wisconsin had five corner kicks and several more direct free kicks from which it could have netted a score; however, its best scoring chance was a Elise Weber diagonal that bounced off the left post and back into the field.
The opportunites kept coming Wisconsin's way in the second half, as well. In the 73rd minute, Jessica Ring was presented with a well-placed service from Amy Vermeulen inside the goal box, but headed the ball wide. With 11 minutes remaining a Kara Kabellis free kick sailed wide of the net, and with seven minutes left, a header by Allison Priess bounced off the ground and into Lauren Mason's gloves.
Mason made only one save, but was constantly being blitzed. Her gutsiest move came in the first half, leaving the pipes to fight off a Sandy Jorgensen attack in the goal box.
Zarinah Blockton had a solid game at center back. In addition to heading back a handful of Badger passes, the sophomore also chased around Jorgensen to force a diagonal shot that sailed wide of the net. Kira Bilecky was credited with a team save midway through the first period, sliding along the goal line to prevent Wisconsin from taking the lead.
Purdue completes its three-game road trip Sunday with a 12:30 p.m. match at Northwestern. The all-time series between the Boilermakers and Wildcats is tied at 3-3, with Northwestern winning the last two matches.