Oct. 28, 2009
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 22nd-ranked Purdue women's soccer team defeated Loyola-Chicago 5-2 Wednesday at the Varsity Soccer Complex in a game that featured senior co-captain Jessica Okoroafo breaking the program record for career goals scored.
"I thought we did a really good job, at times, going forward, and we were dangerous," head coach Robert Klatte said. "Certainly, Loyola has a good side. They are very efficient at what they do. They have a fantastic passing game that provides quality entry balls. I thought their team stepped up and handled the pressure that we put on them, and they were still dangerous going forward. This is a team that you wouldn't want to face in the Horizon League Tournament, and I think they would be a very dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament as well."
Okoroafo nailed the record-breaking tally in the 50th minute when she took a cross from fellow senior Katie Seeger and blasted a shot into the back of the net. The goal was the 35th of Okoroafo's career and broke a tie the Sylvania, Ohio, native had with Lauren Sesselmann at the top of the program's all-time list. Okoroafo also extended her career game-winning goals record, broken earlier this season, to 16.
"It feels really great to break the record," Okoroafo said. "It's nice to have that weight lifted off my shoulders. This win was big for us. This was a game that we had to win in order to get a chance at the NCAA Tournament, and if we didn't win it probably would have knocked us out of the tournament. This game gave us confidence. We know that we can play well, but we need to make sure we play well the whole 90 minutes and not give up silly goals."
Purdue (10-4-3) jumped on the board first when sophomore Lauren Montenegro unleashed a shot from 25 yards out over the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The goal, which snuck just under the crossbar and inside the right post, was Montenegro's first this season and third of her career.
The Boilermakers extended their lead two minutes and one second later when freshman Marta Lynch notched the first tally of her career. Okoroafo took a point-blank shot that looked to be the one that would break the record, but goalkeeper Katie Groesch got in front to deflect the ball. Lynch was waiting for the rebound on the left side of the box and knocked the loose ball into the top of the net.
Loyola-Chicago (5-13-2) got on the board with less than four minutes remaining in the first half. Ashley Funk ran a ball down on the left side of the penalty box and crossed it on the ground in front of the net, where Laura Trevillian was waiting. Trevillian slid the ball on the ground across the goal line to pull the Ramblers within one.
Just 53 seconds after Okoroafo's goal, the Ramblers struck again. Kristin Papierski took a run down the left side of the offensive attack and forced Jenny Bradfisch out of the net. When Bradfisch came out, Papierski slotted a pass to Nikki Staton, who redirected the ball into the open net.
The back-and-forth scoring barrage continued in the 70th minute when freshman Vanessa Ibewuike was tackled in the penalty box by Groesch on a breakaway. Groesch was given a yellow card for the challenge, and Purdue was awarded a penalty kick. Sophomore Kellie Phillips stepped up and delivered her second penalty-kick goal of the season to put the Boilermakers back up by two.
Ibewuike wrapped up the scoring with a goal seven minutes later. Bradfisch punted the ball behind the defense, where it eventually found Ibewuike after bouncing around between the heads of other players. The Plano, Texas, native shot a rocket from 18 yards away across the box and into the left side of the net for the third goal of her freshman campaign.
"For us, our challenge was staying focused," Klatte said. "We took our foot off the accelerator twice as we got two-goal leads. We set back and found ourselves giving up goals and having to restart our engines and go back forward. That's something we certainly have to improve upon. We can't play that way against the quality teams we have coming up over the next week and a half."
The Boilermakers did not allow a corner kick for the second consecutive home game and third time this season. Purdue outshot Loyola-Chicago 23-7 and claimed an 8-3 advantage in shots on goal. Senior Sylvia Forbes and sophomore Brookley Rogers played all 90 minutes on the back line.
Purdue reached the 10-win mark for the 10th consecutive season, a streak that began in the program's third season of existence. The Boilermakers have outscored their opponents 24-6 at home this season. The plus-18 home goal differential is the second-highest single-season mark in program history, trailing only the plus-34 margin attained in 2007. The seven total goals tied Purdue's 6-1 victory over Ball State on Sept. 7 for the highest-scoring game at the Varsity Soccer Complex this season.
Purdue hits the road this weekend as it returns to Big Ten play at 25th-ranked Penn State. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET in State College, Pa. A live radio broadcast and live results can be found at purduesports.com.