MADISON, Wis. – The 2020-21 season came to an end for the Purdue soccer team with a 1-0 loss to Northwestern on Thursday at the McClimon Track & Soccer Complex in Madison, Wisconsin.
On a rainy, wet evening, the Boilermakers (4-6-2) had a 13-6 advantage in shots, and a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, but the Wildcats (6-6) scored on a penalty kick in the 67th minute to advance to the next round of the Big Ten Regional Weekend.
"I thought we played well enough to win today," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "We've had a hard time finishing our chances lately, and today, it just really came back to haunt us. We had some really good looks on goal, but finishing wasn't quite there. That was the difference. The last three or four games we haven't been scoring, and that's really been the difference, an inability to finish strong. That's something we have to address, and we'll do that this offseason. The team fought hard. I felt like it was a frustrating day for us. A tough way for the season to end. When opportunities present themselves, you have to be ready to take advantage. That's one area, unfortunately, where we came up short, and if we could do one thing well in this game, it's finished and take care of opportunities. So, it's just tough, a tough way to go out."
Redshirt junior Sarah Griffith led the team with five shots, three on goal. Senior forward/midfielder Hannah Melchiorre, junior midfielder Grace Walsh and sophomore midfielder Gabby Hollar each had two shots, with Melchiorre and Hollar both getting a shot on goal. Junior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made two saves.
Saturday marked the final match in the Old Gold and Black for Melchiorre and junior defender Julia Ware, who both will be graduating from Purdue University later this spring.
Purdue had eight shots, four on goal in the opening 45 minutes, while the defense held Northwestern without a shot. The Boilermakers also had three corners to NU's zero.
Griffith had Purdue's first shot, which was saved in the fourth minute, and the Boilermakers continued to apply offense pressure early. Walsh and Griffith each added shots wide before Melchiorre had an opportunity saved in the 14th minute.
Melchiorre had another shot blocked in the 21st minute, which set up a corner kick, but the Boilermakers could not connect off the set piece. Five minutes later, NU's keeper made another save on a shot in by Griffith. Hollar then came off the bench and had a shot saved in the 31st, which proved to be the final attempt of the opening half.
While Bova did not see a shot in the first half, she made several catches and stops on crosses into the box. That included an NU chance where Bova beat a sliding attacker to the ball, scooping it up off the wet turf.
Northwestern had 6 shots, three on goal, and Purdue had five shots, one on goal in the second half. The Wildcats had three corners and the Boilermakers had two.
It was a much more even start to the second half, and NU's first shot of the match came in the 51st minute, which was blocked to set up a corner kick.
Both teams were then unable to get a shot off before a penalty was called on Purdue on a hand ball in the penalty box. Regan Steigleder converted on the penalty kick to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.
The Boilermakers went right back on the attack, and Griffith had a fantastic opportunity just 77 seconds later, as she sent a shot in that was just tipped out and over the crossbar by the Wildcat keeper. The save set up a corner kick, and junior defender Skylurr Patrick then fired a shot from outside the box that went high.
Northwestern had the next three shots, one which was blocked, another wide, and the third saved. Griffith then had a shot high in the 82nd minute.
In the final five minutes, the Boilermakers tried to connect on the match-tying goal, and got two shots off, but both were wide of the target.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
On a rainy, wet evening, the Boilermakers (4-6-2) had a 13-6 advantage in shots, and a 5-3 edge in shots on goal, but the Wildcats (6-6) scored on a penalty kick in the 67th minute to advance to the next round of the Big Ten Regional Weekend.
"I thought we played well enough to win today," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "We've had a hard time finishing our chances lately, and today, it just really came back to haunt us. We had some really good looks on goal, but finishing wasn't quite there. That was the difference. The last three or four games we haven't been scoring, and that's really been the difference, an inability to finish strong. That's something we have to address, and we'll do that this offseason. The team fought hard. I felt like it was a frustrating day for us. A tough way for the season to end. When opportunities present themselves, you have to be ready to take advantage. That's one area, unfortunately, where we came up short, and if we could do one thing well in this game, it's finished and take care of opportunities. So, it's just tough, a tough way to go out."
Redshirt junior Sarah Griffith led the team with five shots, three on goal. Senior forward/midfielder Hannah Melchiorre, junior midfielder Grace Walsh and sophomore midfielder Gabby Hollar each had two shots, with Melchiorre and Hollar both getting a shot on goal. Junior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made two saves.
Saturday marked the final match in the Old Gold and Black for Melchiorre and junior defender Julia Ware, who both will be graduating from Purdue University later this spring.
Purdue had eight shots, four on goal in the opening 45 minutes, while the defense held Northwestern without a shot. The Boilermakers also had three corners to NU's zero.
Griffith had Purdue's first shot, which was saved in the fourth minute, and the Boilermakers continued to apply offense pressure early. Walsh and Griffith each added shots wide before Melchiorre had an opportunity saved in the 14th minute.
Melchiorre had another shot blocked in the 21st minute, which set up a corner kick, but the Boilermakers could not connect off the set piece. Five minutes later, NU's keeper made another save on a shot in by Griffith. Hollar then came off the bench and had a shot saved in the 31st, which proved to be the final attempt of the opening half.
While Bova did not see a shot in the first half, she made several catches and stops on crosses into the box. That included an NU chance where Bova beat a sliding attacker to the ball, scooping it up off the wet turf.
Northwestern had 6 shots, three on goal, and Purdue had five shots, one on goal in the second half. The Wildcats had three corners and the Boilermakers had two.
It was a much more even start to the second half, and NU's first shot of the match came in the 51st minute, which was blocked to set up a corner kick.
Both teams were then unable to get a shot off before a penalty was called on Purdue on a hand ball in the penalty box. Regan Steigleder converted on the penalty kick to give Northwestern a 1-0 lead.
The Boilermakers went right back on the attack, and Griffith had a fantastic opportunity just 77 seconds later, as she sent a shot in that was just tipped out and over the crossbar by the Wildcat keeper. The save set up a corner kick, and junior defender Skylurr Patrick then fired a shot from outside the box that went high.
Northwestern had the next three shots, one which was blocked, another wide, and the third saved. Griffith then had a shot high in the 82nd minute.
In the final five minutes, the Boilermakers tried to connect on the match-tying goal, and got two shots off, but both were wide of the target.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.