Nov. 10, 2007
ST. PAUL, Minn. - No. 8 Purdue (18-2-2) shutout Illinois (11-6-2) 3-0 in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament Friday night at the University of Minnesota.
The Boilermakers' victory over the Illini was its second of the year and first again them in the Big Ten Tournament. An eight-time conference tournament qualifier, No. 2 seed Purdue will be making its championship match debut against No. 5 seed Ohio State Sunday at 1 p.m. CT/2 p.m. ET.
The match will be broadcast live by the Big Ten Network.
The Buckeyes tied top-seeded Penn State 2-2 earlier Friday, then advanced after winning 5-4 in penalty kicks.
The Boilermakers made sure they weren't heading to overtime by connecting on two strikes less than four minutes apart early in the first half.
Sophomore forward Loredana Riverso scored first three seconds into the 11th minute by once again blasting a shot off far post and over the goal line. Riverso's goal was initiated by passes from Sylvia Forbes and Kalie Grambeau.
Senior midfielder Shauna Stapleton struck the net a few minutes later, delivering a top drawer shot over the head of Illini goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens from beyond the 18-yard line.
Stapleton's unassisted goal was her 10th of the season, giving the Boilermakers their first trio of double-digit goal scorers in program history. Parrissa Eyorokon entered the postseason with 12 goals while Riverso's three scores this weekend have raised her total to 11.
Jessica Okoroafo could become the fourth member of this exclusive party if Purdue continues its remarkable postseason run. Okoroafo's seventh score of the season in the 89th minute clinched the Boilermaker victory as the junior scored on an open goal.
The Boilermakers were trying to kill off the clock late in the match, which forced Carstens to play at midfield and keep the ball in Illinois territory. Okoroafo, resembling a special teams player in football, ran past a defender to block Carstens' punt and returned it the length of the field for the empty-netter.
Carstens finished the match with three saves as Purdue recorded nine shots with six on frame. Boilermaker goalkeeper Jenny Bradfisch came through with four saves on seven shots faced, giving Purdue its program-record tying 12th shutout of the season.
Although the defense allowed just seven shots, there were plenty of second-half chances presented to Illinois. Illini attackers blasted two shots that Bradfisch couldn't recover but were then cleared out by the Boilermaker defensive backs.
Illinois also came up with six corner kicks - four in the second half - but the Boilermakers were able to quickly clear each of them out of the Illini attacking third. Only twice were Illinois' forwards able to slip past the defense and record shots.
Marti Desjarlais led Illinois with two shots. Five other Illini recorded only one shot.