Sept. 17, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Sylvia Forbes kicked in a Jill Sarbaugh corner kick with 14 seconds left in regulation sending the Purdue/Toledo match to a 1-1 tie. However, it was her non-goal that generated most of the excitement Sunday at the Varsity Soccer Complex.
Toldeo (1-5-2) was called for a foul just outside the six-yard box in the 28th minute, setting up an indirect free kick from point-blank range. The ball was set, Parrissa Eyorokon ran over and tapped the ball on a crossing route, then Forbes blasted the ball over a wall of Toledo defenders spread post-to-post across the goal line.
The team celebrated. The band launched into "Hail Purdue!" and the 485 fans in attendance for LIVESTRONG Day jumped to their feet. But those feelings of elation quickly turned into anger, frustration and confusion when referee Rich Grady waved off the goal.
Grady informed both benches the ball was not in play when Forbes scored. Head coach Rob Klatte became livid. He grabbed a copy of the NCAA rule book and rushed the field as the match continued with score tied at zero.
Klatte, who received his first yellow card in 15 years today as a head coach, was determined to show Grady Rule 13b, which states, "An indirect free kick is one from which a goal cannot be scored unless the ball has been touched by a player other than the kicker before passing through the goal."
"I got that yellow card because I wanted it," said Klatte. "I wanted him to read the rule, which is right there in black and white. The ball was touched by 'P' and Syl kicked it in. This was not a judgement call. It's not a rule that can be interpreted several different ways. We did everything right on that play; he was wrong and I wanted him to know that."
The match remained scoreless until the 81st minute when Molly Cornwall found Heather Wesley splitting two Boilermaker defenders. A few steps later, Wesley pushed a diagonal across the face of the net, beating Lauren Mason to her right.
Prior to today, Mason and the Boilermakers hadn't allowed a goal since the second half of a 4-0 home loss to San Diego State - a scoreless streak of over 700 minutes; the best in program history.
"We make one mistake all game and it led to a goal," said Klatte. "If this were last year, we would have lost this match, but our defense is smarter and more mature in their decision making and our offense refused to give up at any point."
The Boilermakers were presented with numerous chances to score in the final 20 minutes of regulation, but couldn't get their shots to penetrate a Toledo defense that would often sit back six defenders. Purdue attackers often found themselves doubled and tripled team as they tried to distribute and move upfield. Purdue even had a tough time heading the ball while on the attack.
Purdue launched 34 shots to Toledo's six, including 16-2 in the second half and 11-0 through both overtimes. Toledo goalkeeper Jen Whipple came through with six saves and her defenders blocked seven more of those attempts. Mason was only required to make two stops.
"I was happy with our offense in the second half," said Klatte. "We couldn't attack more if we tried. But their goalkeeper made several cracking saves and we missed too many headers inside the six-yard box. I was glad to see that we kept chasing ... we kept moving to try and tie the game."
The Boilermakers' game-tying shot was set in motion by Sarbaugh's corner, which was first headed down by Parrissa Eyorokon. Forbes quickly claimed possession and blasted in past Whipple. The assist served as Eyorokon's fifth point of the weekend; Friday vs. Utah the junior scored two goals.
Purdue's last-second goal was its latest in regulation since scoring in similar fashion with 22 seconds remaining at Michigan in 2003. In that match, Krystal Pepper delivered a corner kick headed in by Lauren Sesselmann - just another case history repeating itself.
Speaking of history, Purdue is off to its best 10-game start with a record of 7-1-2. The 2003 team was 7-1-1 heading into its tenth game but lost at home to Ohio State, 2-1.
And speaking of Ohio State, the Buckeyes open Purdue's Big Ten season this Friday at 5 p.m. Purdue is 2-7-2 all-time against the Scarlet and Gray, but had their way with the Buckeyes last season in Columbus, winning 4-2.
The match will air live on 1410 WLAS-AM and over the internet at purduesports.com. Steve Hall's and Andrew Staley's broadcast begins at 4:50 p.m.