Purdue Battles No. 23 Rutgers to a Draw

Oct. 11, 2015

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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Goalkeeper Jordan Ginther made five saves in her first action in nearly a month, leading Purdue women's soccer to a scoreless draw with No. 23 Rutgers on Sunday's Senior Day game at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex.

The result was Purdue's first scoreless draw since the September 2010 Big Ten opener against Wisconsin and the first shutout of any kind in conference play since blanking Northwestern 1-0 in October 2013. Ginther earned her third career solo shutout and was part of a clean-sheet effort for the sixth time overall.

Seniors Kim Love and Makaela Nellams along with Melissa Casella, Vanessa Korolas and Dannah Williams all went the distance among the Purdue field players. Mikayla Lasky started in the midfield while seeing action for the first time since the Sept. 18 Big Ten opener. Freshman Hannah Mussallem made her first regular-season start for the Boilermakers (7-6-1, 2-4-1 Big Ten).

Physical defensive battle today as we get a draw with No. 23 Rutgers on Senior Day. #BoilerUp http://t.co/W29TZqmBtn

-- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 11, 2015

The draw was beneficial to both teams in the Big Ten Tournament chase. Rutgers (10-2-2, 3-2-2 Big Ten, 11 points) picked up its first standings point on the road this season while recording its league-high 11th shutout overall. Meanwhile, Purdue (7 points) earned a point against a top-25 opponent. Through Sunday's action around the conference, the Scarlet Knights are tied for sixth and the Boilers are in 10th place, two points behind Illinois (2-2-3 Big Ten, 9 points) for the eighth and final spot in the tournament field. Purdue owns a potential head-to-head tiebreaker with the Fighting Illini.

Ginther made the best save of the game in the 20th minute when used a full-extension dive to her left to deflect a rising blast off the foot of Colby Ciarrocca over the crossbar.

Maddy Williams hit the top of the crossbar with the first shot of the game, a free kick from the outer edge of the 18-yard box in the second minute. She was also involved in each of the game's two team saves by field players. She was in position at the left post in the 31st minute to knock down a shot by Erica Skroski off a corner-kick sequence. Brianne Reed's ensuing header off the rebound sailed wide left.

In the 62nd minute, Skroski served as a sweeper and was able to clear away a slow-rolling loose ball that was bound for the mouth of the goal. Maddy Williams had gotten just a slight touch on the ball as Rutgers goalkeeper Casey Murphy aggressively came off her line to prevent Williams an opportunity to gain possession on the left side of the 18-yard box.

Ginther made her final save of the day in the opening minute of overtime. It was the first of five shots over the first five minutes of OT for the visiting side, but only the initial shot was fired on goal. The Scarlet Knights later had three corner kick opportunities in the final 75 seconds of double overtime, but Purdue successfully defended all three corners to finish off the shutout.

Jordan @jGinther16, @Kimlove_15 & Drew Roff discuss #Purdue's scoreless draw with #23 Rutgers on Senior Day. http://t.co/KAUJP6PL8K

-- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 11, 2015

Rutgers had sizable advantages in the shot (22-7) and corner kick (11-2) totals, but was only on target with six of its 22 shots. Andrea Petrina accounted for three of the Boilers' four shots on goal. Murphy's best save of the day was diving to her right to snare a shot by Petrina in the 55th minute.

Ginther made a save on Erin Smith in the 57th minute but lost control of the ball momentarily. It dropped between her legs and trickled within a few feet of the goal line, but Ginther was able to regain control as her teammates on the bench let out a collective sigh of relief.

Erika Arkans logged 51 minutes to lead the Purdue reserves. She played all 20 minutes of overtime after the Boilers went with the same 11 players for the entirety of both extra sessions. Nicole Robertson was the first Purdue player off the bench Sunday, but was sidelined for an extended stretch in the second half after hitting her head on the turf following a collision in the 67th minute.

Purdue returns to action Thursday when its host No. 11 Penn State for the home finale at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

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