Oct. 3, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue (8-3-2, 2-0-1) women's soccer team could only manage a 1-1 tie on Friday night at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Even though they controlled most of the match, the Boilermakers could not hold off Michigan (3-5-4, 0-1-2) in the final minutes of regulation to seal the victory.
Purdue outshot the Wolverines 28 to 12 and held Michigan without a shot in either overtime period. The Boilermakers posted ten shots on goal from eight different players, but it was not enough.
Junior forward Loredana Riverso was the lone goal scorer for Purdue. She also led the team with three shots on goal.
Junior goalkeeper Jenny Bradfisch started the night off right with a highlight reel save. In the 4th minute, Michigan's Kristen Goncalves took a shot that was headed towards the upper right corner of Purdue's goal. Bradfisch dove to her left to make the one-handed save, her first of four on the night.
The Boilermakers nearly made it 1-0 going into halftime when redshirt junior defender Sylvia Forbes took a free kick from 23 yards. She cleared Michigan's defensive wall in front of her and almost snuck it under the cross bar. Instead, the ball bounced over and the score was knotted at 0-0 going into the second half.
Purdue would not waste too much time coming out of the half, however. In the 52nd minute, freshman Kellie Phillips knocked the ball out of the right corner to sophomore Jessica Stellhorn. Stellhorn sent in a cross from the right corner of the box that found Riverso's right foot. In one quick motion, Riverso punched the ball into the left-side of the net and Purdue was up 1-0.
It looked like smooth sailing from there, until Michigan scored a goal of their own with only a few minutes remaining in regulation. In the 86th minute, Clare Satchel took a corner kick for the Wolverines that was nearly cleared out of the zone. Jackie Carron was in the right place at the right time and took the rebound shot from 25 yards out. Bradfisch made a great effort, but the ball squirted through the bottom right-hand corner of the goal to force overtime.
In two extra frames, Purdue outshot the Wolverines 4-0. However, fatigue eventually set in as neither team could mount much of a challenge. As the buzzer sounded, Riverso got the best look the Boilermakers saw in overtime but Michigan goalkeeper Madison Gates was there for the save.
"It's a learning thing. I'm disappointed, but I think we're still in the mix of things in the Big Ten," head coach Rob Klatte said. "On Sunday, we'll need to be ready for a competitive Michigan State team."
Purdue hosts the Spartans (10-1-0, 2-0-0) at 1:00 p.m. at the Varsity Soccer Complex on Sunday. Michigan State had just started their match against Illinois at the time of this press release.