Sept. 17, 2010
BOULDER, Colo. - The Purdue women's soccer bounced back from an early one goal deficit to beat the Colorado Buffaloes 3-1 in the first game of the Omni Hotels Colorado Women's Soccer Classic. The win was the 200th career victory for head coach Robert Klatte.
"It's nice to be able to reach 200 wins for my career," Klatte said after his milestone victory. "It plays to being able to work at a great university that has the ability to draw great students and athletes. When we can get such great people, it makes it a lot easier for me as a coach. It is also great when you have such a great staff as I have had over my career. They have really helped in building consistency in this program."
Colorado (3-4) jumped out to an early lead when the Buffaloes were awarded a corner kick in the seventh minute. Amanda Foulk took the kick and bent it around past the Purdue defense into the net for her first goal of the season.
Purdue (4-4-1) did not stay behind for long. After a few substitutions, the Boilermakers picked up their attack and controlled the ball in the Colorado third of the field. Kellie Phillips won a corner kick in the 22nd minute and sent it in front of the goal, but the Buffaloes' defense was able to clear it away. The Scottsdale, Ariz., native had another opportunity in the 25th minute and this time she capitalized. Phillips sent the corner to the middle of the penalty box where Katie Leinert was able to get a piece of it. The junior redirected the ball past Annie Brunner to tie the score at one. The goal was Leinert's second of the season as Phillips picked up her second helper.
"I think as a team and a program it was a really good response after going a goal down," Klatte said. "We had a short bench today so we were forced into some different situations, but we had a great performance overall."
The goal gave the Boilermakers the momentum and they were able to use it to their advantage just two minutes later. After a shot by Alexis Tryba was blocked in front of the goal, Phillips was able to come away with the ball and an open look. The junior took a quick shot into the open side of the goal to give Purdue a 2-1 lead. The goal was Phillips' third of the season and, with the assist, her second three-point game of the year.
Purdue and Colorado battled the remaining 18 minutes of the first half evenly. Despite being outshot 7-5 including 4-2 on goal, the Boilermakers held a 2-1 lead at the break.
The Boilermakers brought a similar aggressive attack out of the locker room for the second half. They had several good scoring chances including a corner kick in the 66th minute. Jessica Warren took the kick and sent it in front of the goal where Tayler Francel was waiting. Francel got a head on the ball, but knocked it just wide to the far post.
The Buffaloes had their best chance to tie the game in the 73rd minute. Colorado's leading scorer Kym Lowery found an opening to the right side and fired a shot that beat Carianne Betts, but caromed of the crossbar to keep the score at 2-1. The shot gave the Buffaloes a bit of momentum and they were able to muster up three good shots over the next five minutes. Betts came up big on each of them and stopped all six shots on frame after the opening goal.
Purdue was able to put the game away in the 81st minute after Liz Secue found an opening. The senior captain dribbled through the defense to the right side of the field. She was able to turn the corner and then slotted the ball across the face of the goal and it rolled past Brunner to the back post to give the Boilermakers a 3-1 lead. The goal was her second of the season after scoring her first career tally at Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 3.
"We had a solid defensive effort. I think Brookley Rogers played one of her best overall games," Klatte said. "She and Liz (Secue) really did a nice job of clearing balls and eliminating some of the dangers that Colorado faced us with. We had a lot of good, solid performances from our team. We were able to finish the game and that is a big step for us."
The win snaps a three-game losing streak for the Boilermakers and also gives them a 1-0 series advantage over Colorado. Purdue also moves to 10-7 all-time against the Big 12 Conference.
The Boilermakers return to action Sunday when they face Denver in their second game of the Omni Hotels Colorado Women's Soccer Classic in Boulder, Colo. Kickoff from Prentup Field is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. Live results can be found at purduesports.com.