Sept. 2, 2007
By David Brienza
Purdue sports information student assistant
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - No. 15 Purdue (0-1-1) lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to Louisville Sunday at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Purdue pressured Louisville for 90 minutes, creating 23 shots and nine corner kicks, but a Cardinal free kick in the 82nd minute proved to be the difference maker.
Following a foul at the top-left corner of the 18 yard box, Louisville midfielder Monique Gjini struck a shot across Purdue's defensive wall and into the right side of the net.
Purdue coach Rob Klatte said he was pleased with his team's overall effort but it all came down to the game-deciding penalty.
"We had 23 shots on goal. But in the end it comes down to the fact you can't give away a free kick with five minutes left," Klatte said.
After being shut out in their season opener Friday night Purdue came out and played aggressively in the first half, taking 11 shots and forcing six corner kicks. Forty seconds after the opening whistle the Boilermakers gained a free kick 35 yards from goal and kept the pressure on the entire game.
Purdue received two consecutive corner kicks in the 24th minute. Following the first corner taken by senior forward Parrissa Eyorokon, senior midfielder Shauna Stapleton played a ball into the six-yard box, forcing Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig to bat it out.
Purdue then had two good chances in the closing minutes of the first half. Sophomore forward Loredana Riverso had a 10-yard shot form the right side of goal blocked and junior Felicia Schoeder also had a skipper from the top of the 18-yard box saved by Haig.
Riverso would have another quality chance in the 64th minute. With the Boilermakers on the attack, senior Jill Sarbaugh played a ball to the right side for an oncoming Riverso who then blasted a shot from 10-yards out, across the face of the goal and out of bounds.
The Boilers kept the pressure on until the final whistle following Louisville's goal in the 82nd minute. Sophomore Sylvia Forbes had a shot land on top of the net and junior Jessica Okoroafo's header bounced off the crossbar.
Overall, Klatte said his team did a better job defensively against Louisville than against Kentucky and the team's goals will eventually come.
"I think we definitely did a better job of not letting them (Louisville) counter-attack than we did against Kentucky," Klatte said. "They had a good goalkeeper and (the defense) didn't come out and play us, so we had to try and break their defense down. I think a lot of teams are going to do that this year, but once we figure out how to break the opposition down we have the potential to score a lot of goals."
Purdue next plays host to Xavier at 5:30 p.m. this Wednesday at the Varsity Soccer Complex. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network, which is available through DirectTV (Ch. 220) and Boilermaker Cable Television (Ch. 12).
Notes
Purdue lost its Boilermaker Challenge Cup for a third-straight year ... Cal Poly (2005), San Diego State (2006) and Louisville (2007) have all won it since Purdue's last tournament title in 2004 ... Louisville goalkeeper Joanna Haig has shut out Purdue by matching 1-0 scores in two different uniforms ... as a member of Iowa State, she blanked the Boilermakers during a 2005 match at Ames, Iowa ... seniors Kalie Grambeau and Christy Riggle were both named to the Boilermaker Challenge Cup for the first time ... Sunday's loss snapped a program-best 11-match home unbeaten streak for Purdue ... prior to today, the Boilermakers' last home loss was Aug. 27, 2006 ... the Big Ten Network comes to Purdue for the first time Wednesday to cover the Xavier/Boilermaker soccer match ... the game will air on tape delay at 8 p.m. EST.
Boilermaker Challenge Cup Champion: Louisville Cardinals
Offensive MVP: Monique Gjini, Louisville
Defensive MVP: Laura Baker, Kentucky
All Tournament Team
Joanna Haig, Jessica Melo, Monique Gjini, Lindsay Boling, Kelsey Hunyadi (Louisville)
Laura Novikoff, Laura Baker, Sarah Gaunt (Kentucky)
Christy Riggle, Kalie Grambeau (Purdue)
Alexia Murray (Loyola-Chicago)