WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team suffered a 1-0 loss to Rutgers on Sunday afternoon at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.
After allowing the lone goal at 42:00, the Boilermakers (1-2-0, 1-2-0 Big Ten) had several good chances and outshot the Scarlet Knights (2-1-0, 2-1-0 Big Ten) 5-2 in the second half, but the home side could not find the equalizer.
"I thought it was a very even match today," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "Both teams defended very well and both teams had trouble generating a lot of good scoring chances in the final third. Give Rutgers credit, they found the goal on a set piece, it was good delivery, good finish. Restarts are something that we need to focus a bit on and sharpen some things up in that area. Aside from that, I felt that we went out there and competed at a high level and did a nice job of keeping possession at times, but we just had a hard time breaking Rutgers down in the final third. We got ourselves into some good positions, but didn't threaten as much as I would've liked."
Purdue had seven shots, two in the first half and five in the second, while Rutgers had six, four in the opening 45 minutes. Both teams had three shots on goal, one in the first half and two in the second. The Boilermakers had four corner kicks, all after intermission, and the Scarlet Knights had two, both in the first half.
Redshirt junior forward Sarah Griffith led the team with three shots, two on goal, while junior midfielders Sydney Duarte and Teagan Jones both had two shots, with one of Jones' on goal. Junior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made two saves.
"It's our first Sunday match of a Thursday-Sunday weekend, and certainly at times the legs looked a little heavy, so that's always a challenge when you get down a goal in a Sunday match and you have to start chasing the game a little bit," Roff added. "That requires quite a bit of energy, and our players did a great job of battling through and trying to get that equalizer. The sharpness and the ideas in the final third weren't quite enough to tie the game up. I thought our center-backs once again did an outstanding job, the midfield worked hard. The forwards had to press, especially when we were down a goal, they had to use a lot of energy trying to get to the ball, trying to win the ball back, and that probably took its toll as well. All in all, I thought we defended well, I thought it was a very even match, but they found that one moment and unfortunately we didn't, and that was the difference."
Rutgers' first chance came in the 10th minute, but junior defender Julia Ware made a nice stop and clear on the ball that just entered the 18.
The first shot by either team was taken by Griffith, but it was saved in the 15th minute, and the Scarlet Knights answered with a shot wide on their ensuing possession.
In the 18th minute, Jones made a great play on a ball that was centered into the box from the far side. She made a sliding block to clear the ball to the far sideline, where it was cleared by the Boilermaker defense. Two minutes later, at 20:24, Rutgers had its first corner kick, but freshman midfielder Emily Mathews was there inside the six to head the ball out to be cleared.
Griffith had another opportunity in the 23rd minute, but her shot from 25 yards away went just high.
Jones made another nice play to clear a ball out of the box on a hard-hit shot in the 28th minute.
Rutgers scored the match's lone goal at 42:00 off a corner kick. Prior to the goal, senior defender Maya Lambert made a great tackle to prevent a shot and force the corner kick, but the Scarlet Knights then converted on the set piece. Gabby Provenzano scored the goal, with assists to Sara Brocious and Samantha Kroeger.
Purdue had several good chances early to begin the second half. In a 35-second span, Duarte sent a shot that was blocked wide for a corner kick. Off the corner, Jones had a shot blocked, and Griffith got a shot off the rebound, but it was saved.
Jones had another shot saved in the 52nd minute.
Bova made her first stop in the 65th minute, and made a great save five minutes later, at 69:19, on a shot from 10 yards out to keep it a one-goal contest.
The Boilermakers continued to press in the final 15 minutes, and Duarte had a shot that went just high in the 80th minute. Her chance came from a great ball into the box from the near side by junior midfielder Ally Mussallem.
In the final two minutes, Purdue had a corner kick, but could not get a final shot off.
The Boilermakers are back on the road for its next two matches, beginning at Nebraska on Thursday, March 4. Kickoff in Lincoln, Nebraska, is set for 2:05 p.m. ET.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
After allowing the lone goal at 42:00, the Boilermakers (1-2-0, 1-2-0 Big Ten) had several good chances and outshot the Scarlet Knights (2-1-0, 2-1-0 Big Ten) 5-2 in the second half, but the home side could not find the equalizer.
"I thought it was a very even match today," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "Both teams defended very well and both teams had trouble generating a lot of good scoring chances in the final third. Give Rutgers credit, they found the goal on a set piece, it was good delivery, good finish. Restarts are something that we need to focus a bit on and sharpen some things up in that area. Aside from that, I felt that we went out there and competed at a high level and did a nice job of keeping possession at times, but we just had a hard time breaking Rutgers down in the final third. We got ourselves into some good positions, but didn't threaten as much as I would've liked."
Purdue had seven shots, two in the first half and five in the second, while Rutgers had six, four in the opening 45 minutes. Both teams had three shots on goal, one in the first half and two in the second. The Boilermakers had four corner kicks, all after intermission, and the Scarlet Knights had two, both in the first half.
Redshirt junior forward Sarah Griffith led the team with three shots, two on goal, while junior midfielders Sydney Duarte and Teagan Jones both had two shots, with one of Jones' on goal. Junior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made two saves.
"It's our first Sunday match of a Thursday-Sunday weekend, and certainly at times the legs looked a little heavy, so that's always a challenge when you get down a goal in a Sunday match and you have to start chasing the game a little bit," Roff added. "That requires quite a bit of energy, and our players did a great job of battling through and trying to get that equalizer. The sharpness and the ideas in the final third weren't quite enough to tie the game up. I thought our center-backs once again did an outstanding job, the midfield worked hard. The forwards had to press, especially when we were down a goal, they had to use a lot of energy trying to get to the ball, trying to win the ball back, and that probably took its toll as well. All in all, I thought we defended well, I thought it was a very even match, but they found that one moment and unfortunately we didn't, and that was the difference."
Rutgers' first chance came in the 10th minute, but junior defender Julia Ware made a nice stop and clear on the ball that just entered the 18.
The first shot by either team was taken by Griffith, but it was saved in the 15th minute, and the Scarlet Knights answered with a shot wide on their ensuing possession.
In the 18th minute, Jones made a great play on a ball that was centered into the box from the far side. She made a sliding block to clear the ball to the far sideline, where it was cleared by the Boilermaker defense. Two minutes later, at 20:24, Rutgers had its first corner kick, but freshman midfielder Emily Mathews was there inside the six to head the ball out to be cleared.
Griffith had another opportunity in the 23rd minute, but her shot from 25 yards away went just high.
Jones made another nice play to clear a ball out of the box on a hard-hit shot in the 28th minute.
Rutgers scored the match's lone goal at 42:00 off a corner kick. Prior to the goal, senior defender Maya Lambert made a great tackle to prevent a shot and force the corner kick, but the Scarlet Knights then converted on the set piece. Gabby Provenzano scored the goal, with assists to Sara Brocious and Samantha Kroeger.
Purdue had several good chances early to begin the second half. In a 35-second span, Duarte sent a shot that was blocked wide for a corner kick. Off the corner, Jones had a shot blocked, and Griffith got a shot off the rebound, but it was saved.
Jones had another shot saved in the 52nd minute.
Bova made her first stop in the 65th minute, and made a great save five minutes later, at 69:19, on a shot from 10 yards out to keep it a one-goal contest.
The Boilermakers continued to press in the final 15 minutes, and Duarte had a shot that went just high in the 80th minute. Her chance came from a great ball into the box from the near side by junior midfielder Ally Mussallem.
In the final two minutes, Purdue had a corner kick, but could not get a final shot off.
The Boilermakers are back on the road for its next two matches, beginning at Nebraska on Thursday, March 4. Kickoff in Lincoln, Nebraska, is set for 2:05 p.m. ET.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.