Oct. 5, 2008
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - On a picturesque day at the Varsity Soccer Complex, the Boilermakers remained unbeaten in Big Ten play with a 2-0 victory over Michigan State. This is the sixth straight time Purdue has beaten the Spartans.
Senior forward Felicia Schroeder scored both goals for the Boilermakers. It was her fourth career two-goal game and her first of the season. Four different players registered assists, including goalkeeper Jenny Bradfisch. Her first career assist is also the first time a goalkeeper has been credited with an assist in Purdue history.
The Boilermaker back line was stellar as well. Coming into this weekend, Michigan State was averaging 3.00 goals on 12.6 shots per game. Laura Heyboer, the Big Ten's leading scorer, was completely shut down on Sunday and never even tallied a shot. For the day, the Purdue defense held the Spartans scoreless on just four total shots.
"Our back line was solid again today. We got some great performances individually," head coach Rob Klatte said. "(Sylvia) Forbes and (Liz) Secue are great together as our center backs and have been nearly unbeatable all year."
Purdue did not waste time getting the party started with a goal in the 6th minute. Bradfisch threw the ball out to sophomore defensive back Jessica Stellhorn near midfield and Stellhorn lobbed the ball over the Michigan State defense. Schroeder outran the defenders as and took a shot from 15 yards that went into the bottom left corner of the net.
Just nine minutes later, freshman Kellie Phillips served the ball into the Michigan State box and Schroeder was able to get off a clean header. Spartan goalkeeper Lindsey Wrege was there for the save, but Schroeder would not be denied her second goal.
In the 75th minute, junior forward Loredana Riverso fed the ball into the Michigan State zone from the far right corner of the field. Freshman midfielder Britney Scott took the pass and chipped the ball up to Schroeder, who was there for another header. The ball barely grazed over the fingertips of Wrege to seal the 2-0 Purdue win.
The Boilermakers (9-3-2) are back on the road next weekend when they travel to Minnesota and Iowa. Kickoff Friday night in Minneapolis is slated for 8 p.m. ET.