Sept. 26, 2010
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Purdue women's soccer team won a thriller 1-0 over Northwestern on Sunday afternoon at the Varsity Soccer Complex.
"I thought our team played much better than we did on Friday against Wisconsin," Purdue skipper Robert Klatte said. "I thought we moved the ball really well today. In the second half, Northwestern did a better job of closing down space and constricting some of our play. We had to change our attack a little bit and it allowed us to put some players in positions to really help us."
Purdue(5-5-2, 1-0-1) outshot Northwestern 10-4 in the second half and was able to score the game's only goal in the 84th minute on a rebound shot by Jessica Warren. The play started near midfield after Northwestern was called for a foul. Liz Secue took the free kick and played it into the center circle to Brookley Rogers. Rogers sent the ball deep into the left side of the penalty box where the Wildcats were able to clear it out to the right. Secue tracked it down and found an opening on the right side of the box where she fired a shot that caromed off the crossbar to the right side. Katie Leinert controlled the rebound and passed it to Hadley Stuart at the left post. The freshman fought through a scrum of Wildcat defenders and headed the ball to the top of the six yard box. Warren saw the bouncing ball and came charging in where she ripped a shot over the diving Wildcat defenders and into the back of the goal for the eventual game-winning tally. The goal was Warren's first of the season.
"We got the ball in the box and a couple different girls got some shots off," Warren said about the play that led to her goal. "I was in the right place in the right time and was able to put one in the back of the net."
Northwestern (5-4-2, 1-1) had a solid attack early in the game. In the 10th minute, Jill Dunn sent a corner kick to Leigh Jakes in the middle of the penalty box. Jakes got her head on the ball and redirected it on frame, but Carianne Betts was there to make a nice save and keep the game scoreless. The Wildcats held a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks on the afternoon including 3-1 in the first half.
Secue played a great game for the Boilermakers and came up with big plays on the offensive and defensive ends. In the 26th minute, the Bath, Ohio, native dribbled the ball the length of the field, outrunning four Northwestern defenders. As she got to the end line, the senior captain tried to cross the ball to the middle, but it was blocked out of bounds for Purdue's first corner kick of the game.
Secue also stopped one of Northwestern's best scoring opportunities of the game. In the 42nd minute, Bo Podkopacz got around the Purdue defense for a breakaway opportunity. Secue turned on the jets and was able to make up 10 yards of ground to get in front of Podkopacz and force her shot wide of the goal.
Betts came up with two saves on the afternoon to record her second shutout of the weekend. The Parma, Ohio, native made five saves on Friday in Purdue's 0-0 tie against Wisconsin.
The pair of shutouts over the weekend marked the seventh time in the last nine years that the Boilermakers have blanked their first two Big Ten opponents in a season. Purdue also went unbeaten over its first pair of Big Ten contests for the eighth time in the last nine years.
The victory moves Purdue to 11-2 all-time against the Wildcats. It also puts the Boilermakers in a first place tie with Wisconsin in the Big Ten standings with four conference points apiece.
"It feels awesome to be in the Big Ten lead especially coming after our rough start to the season," Warren said. "It is exciting and I hope we can continue to build on the momentum from this weekend."
The Boilermakers return to action on Friday when they hit the road for a clash against the Illinois Fighting Illini in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. Kickoff from the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Live results and a live radio broadcast can be found at purduesports.com.