Sept. 7, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's soccer team earned a 6-1 win over Ball State to clinch the Boilermaker Challenge Cup in front of 389 fans Monday at the Varsity Soccer Complex.
"I'm happy with the results from this weekend," head coach Robert Klatte said. "We had a tight, cagey match on Saturday against Valparaiso, and Ball State set themselves up differently today. Ball State came out to play today and tried to score goals, and I have to take my hat off to them for that. We were able to expose them several times because of that, but we certainly have lots of work still to do as a team to make it where we are efficient in both halves of the field."
Senior co-captain Jessica Okoroafo, who scored the game-winning goal in Saturday's 1-0 win over Valparaiso, was named offensive MVP after also adding a goal in the 22nd minute of Monday's victory. The Sylvania, Ohio, native put Purdue ahead 3-0 after outrunning the defense to a ball played in by sophomore Lauren Varnau after she executed a slide tackle at midfield to take the ball away. Okoroafo scored the 32nd goal of her collegiate career, which puts her alone in second place on Purdue's all-time list, by pushing the ball past the goalkeeper after a brief skirmish with the defender.
"I was really happy to win the award," Okoroafo said. "I was actually surprised. So many people did so well today and Saturday. I thought it really was a team effort. But, I was really happy about winning."
Junior Liz Secue was named defensive MVP after playing the entire 180 minutes of the tournament. The Bath, Ohio, native, patrolled the center for the Boilermakers, who had their shutout streak of 221 minutes and 32 seconds, as well as a home shutout streak of 230:54, end on a penalty kick at in the 51st minute.
"I'm so honored to get defensive MVP," Secue said. "The whole team played hard for both games, and it was really easy for me to defend because everyone in front of me did their job so well."
Vanessa Ibewuike opened the scoring with a goal in the 10th minute. The freshman from Plano, Texas, outran the defenders on a ball played in from midfield by seniors Sylvia Forbes and Katie Seeger. Ibewuike took the ball on the right side of the penalty box and unleashed a shot into the left side of the net from 15 yards out. Forbes added to Purdue's lead nine minutes later when she headed a free kick by sophomore Kellie Phillips over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Sophomore Alexis Tryba scored the Boilermakers' fourth and sixth goals of the afternoon. The Carmel, Ind., native notched her first goal of the season in the 29th minute when she pushed a ball in the six-yard box past the goalkeeper. Fellow sophomores Brookley Rogers and Lauren Montenegro were credited with assists on the play. Tryba also finished off the scoring in the 90th minute when she found a loose ball 12 yards away from the goal and put it in the back of the net.
Seeger scored her third goal this season, and third of her career, when she took a ball in front of the net and slid it past the goalkeeper. Ibewuike and Okoroafo were credited with assists on the play. Okoroafo earned the 15th helper of her career, which ties her with fellow senior Loredana Riverso for fifth on the program's all-time list, while Ibewuike tallied the second assist of her young career.
The Boilermakers saw a yellow card come out for the third straight game when Ibewuike and Ball State forward Jacki Eft got together in the 65th minute. A foul was called on Eft, but after the play the referee showed both players the yellow.
Purdue won the Boilermaker Challenge Cup for the sixth time in the tournament's 11-year history. The Boilermakers also successfully defended their title for the first time since 1999-2000. The six goals scored are the second-most scored by Purdue at the Varsity Soccer Complex and the most overall since a 7-0 home victory over Indiana on Nov. 2, 2007.
The Boilermakers' five-game winning streak is tied with the 2000 team for the longest winning streak to open a season. It also is the longest winning streak since Purdue won six in a row, including all three games of the Big Ten Tournament, from Oct. 28-Nov. 10, 2007.
Purdue travels to the Santa Clara Classic this weekend, where it is scheduled to take on No. 4 Stanford and No. 22 Santa Clara. The game against Stanford kicks off Friday at 8 p.m. ET, while the Santa Clara match is slated for a 4:30 p.m. ET start. Live results from both games can be found at PurdueSports.com.