Nov. 3, 2009
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 23rd-ranked Purdue women's soccer team pulled off an exciting 2-1 victory over Indiana on Tuesday evening at Armstrong Stadium.
"It was a tightly-contested match," head coach Robert Klatte said. "We certainly were disappointed to go down at the start of the second half after I thought we really had a good performance in the first half. We controlled most of the possession and had the ball in their end of the field. We were just unable to convert any chances, which is something that has been symptomatic with us over the last couple of weeks."
Purdue (11-5-3, 4-3-2) scored with 21 seconds remaining in the second overtime to grab victory from the clutches of a tie. After a foul was called on Kellie Phillips 20 yards away from the goal, Jessica Stellhorn stepped up and delivered a ball into the box from the right side. Sylvia Forbes outran her defender to the ball and headed it into the back of the net for the game-winning score.
Forbes scored her sixth goal this season, which is a new career high for the senior from Whitby, Ontario. The assist is the eighth career game-winning helper for Stellhorn, who moved into second place alone on the program's all-time list in that category. The record of nine was set by Annette Kent from 2000-03. Stellhorn also recorded the first multiple-assist game in her time as a Boilermaker.
"It was exhilarating to score," Forbes said. "I couldn't have felt any better than that. In a game like that, to go out in score in double overtime and having your team just jump you, it can't get better than that. We worked so hard tonight, and I think it was an all-around team effort. Finally, we were able to capitalize on something in overtime. It feels amazing."
Indiana (10-6-2, 2-5-2) got on the board first after a first half that saw no goals scored. Carly Samp took the ball down near the end line on the left side of the offensive attack and slotted a ball back into the box to Chloe McKay. McKay then put a shot from 15 yards out into the top right corner of the net to give the Hoosiers a lead just 25 seconds into the second half.
The Boilermakers responded quickly as freshman Jessica Warren knocked in the second goal of her first collegiate season. Stellhorn passed the ball from the right side to Warren, who took the pass at the top of the box, spun and rifled a shot into the right side of the net. The Avon, Ind., native has made both of her goals count this season, with her first being the difference in Purdue's 1-0 win over Michigan on Oct. 15.
"We got a great strike from Jess Warren, who really had a fantastic look just moments earlier that the goalkeeper had to parry away," Klatte said. "Her goal put it back even, and then it was a seesaw battle for a while. There were some dangerous moments in the overtime period because neither team wanted to end up with a tie. I think both teams really felt that a win was necessary to move forward toward the NCAA Tournament. We've spent time training those free kicks, and we got a beautiful service from Stellhorn and a fantastic early run by Sylvia Forbes. She smashes it into the back of the net, and we take the Boot home with us. I think this win goes a long way toward getting us to the NCAA Tournament."
Purdue grabbed its first overtime win this season to improve to 1-1-3 when games extend into the extra period. The Boilermakers kept the Golden Boot, the traveling trophy given to the winner of the rivalry game, while improving to 10-1-3 all-time against the Hoosiers. Purdue extended its unbeaten streak against Indiana to 13 matches and has not lost since the team's first contest in 1999.
The 110th-minute goal is the latest scored in program history and secured just the second double-overtime win for the Boilermakers. The only other time Purdue won a game that went into the second overtime was in 2005, when the Boilermakers beat Northwestern 2-1 on a goal in the 102nd minute.
Senior co-captain Jessica Okoroafo broke the program's record for career shots when she aimed a ball toward the goal in the 22nd minute. The shot was Okoroafo's 246th as a Boilermaker, which broke a tie on top of the school's all-time list with Kent. Okoroafo broke a school record for the third consecutive game after breaking the career goals scored record Wednesday and the career games played record Sunday.
The Boilermakers are now tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 14 points. Indiana remains in a three-way tie for eighth in the conference with the loss.
Purdue wraps up the regular season Saturday against Iowa on Senior Day. Kickoff from the Varsity Soccer Complex is set for 1 p.m. ET. Live results and a radio broadcast can be found at purduesports.com.