WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 18-ranked and second-seeded Purdue soccer team advanced in the Big Ten Tournament with a 1-0 victory over seventh-seeded Ohio State in the quarterfinal as senior forward Sarah Griffith scored her record-breaking 15th goal of the season on Sunday afternoon at Folk Field.
Griffith scored in the 55th minute as the Boilermakers (14-3-2) recorded their third consecutive shutout and fourth in their last five games. Winners of three in a row and six of its last seven, Purdue earned its 14th win of the season for the fourth time ever and the first time since 2007. The team advances to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal for the seventh time in program history and the second time in three years after an 11-year hiatus.
With the quarterfinal victory, Purdue will face No. 17-ranked and third-seeded Michigan in the second of two semifinal matchups on Thursday, November 4, at 4 p.m. ET, in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The win over the Buckeyes (9-8-2) came on a picture-perfect fall day in front of a lively Halloween crowd at Folk Field. The Boilermakers improved to 9-8-2 all-time in Big Ten Tournament play, 2-1-1 at home and 4-2-1 against Ohio State. West Lafayette hosted a postseason game for the fourth time ever and the first time since the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, and Purdue played on its home pitch for the first time since the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
"I feel like we came out exactly the way we wanted to, we did a nice job pressing them, putting them under pressure and created a ton of chances," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "The only thing that I wish we would have done obviously, in the first half, is get a goal, but we were knocking on the door and looking dangerous, keeping possession, so I was real pleased with that. In the second half, I just said 'Hey, let's continue to do what we're doing, keep the foot on the gas, and as soon as we get one we're going to shut them out and this game's going to be ours,' and that's exactly what happened. I love how our team competed. To get a shutout against a team like that really speaks highly of our whole team, 11 working together. It's just a great result on a great day in front of tremendous, supportive Boilermaker crowd. It's something that we've worked hard to get to, and today it was definitely a special day at Folk Field."
Purdue had 19 shots, 11 on target, to Ohio State's nine shots and three on goal. OSU's keeper made nine saves and the Buckeye defense cleared another ball off the line to prevent the Boilermakers from scoring more than once. The home side also had a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks, including 8-1 in the first half.
Griffith's goal came at 54:58, her 15th of the season to break the Purdue record of 14, set by Maddy Williams in 2017. Griffith also moves into third place in the single-season record book with 32 points and five game-winning goals. In her career, Griffith continues to rank No. 6 with 25 goals, while she moves into a tie for No. 5 with her 10th game-winning goal and is No. 8 with 58 points.
Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova stopped all three shots she faced to notch her 14th win of the season, the most by a goalkeeper since 2007. It was her sixth shutout of the year as she continued to rise in Purdue's top-10 list.
In a single season, Bova moves up to No. 2 with 93 saves and into a tie for second with 14 wins. She is now tied for fifth with six shutouts and also moves into the top-10 for games started (19, T-9th) and minutes (1,746:39, 10th). In her career, Bova is now alone at No. 2 with 20 shutouts and No. 4 with 55 starts, and she continues to ranked No. 4 with 28 wins and 5,176:36 minutes and No. 5 with 210 saves.
Sunday's game-winning goal came in the 55th minute. After a flurry of offensive chances for the Old Gold and Black, Griffith passed the ball outside of the box, and two more passes found senior defender Maya Lambert just past the center circle. She then sent the ball to her left to senior midfielder Teagan Jones, near the far Big Ten logo. Jones received the pass, paused momentarily and delivered a volley to the top of the six-yard box. An OSU defender got a head on it, but it went right to Griffith, who moved to her right and fired a right-footed shot from eight yards out past one defender and into the left side of the net, beyond the arms of a diving Buckeye keeper.
The assist was Jones' fifth, third-most on the team, and Lambert's second. Jones now has eight career assists and Lambert has four.
Purdue had several great chances to score before and after Griffith's goal, but several fantastic saves by the Ohio State goalkeeper, and a ball cleared off the line, prevented the Boilermakers from finding another.
Griffith had a game-high seven shots, three on goal, while senior forward Sydney Duarte had four shots, two on target. Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews added three shots, two on goal.
Up next, Purdue advances to play Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal on Thursday, November 4, at 4 p.m. ET. The Big Ten Network will air the top-20 matchup, which will be played in Piscataway, New Jersey. No. 6-ranked and top-seeded Rutgers will host the semifinal and final, as the Scarlet Knights play No. 5-seed Iowa in Thursday's first semifinal.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Griffith scored in the 55th minute as the Boilermakers (14-3-2) recorded their third consecutive shutout and fourth in their last five games. Winners of three in a row and six of its last seven, Purdue earned its 14th win of the season for the fourth time ever and the first time since 2007. The team advances to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal for the seventh time in program history and the second time in three years after an 11-year hiatus.
With the quarterfinal victory, Purdue will face No. 17-ranked and third-seeded Michigan in the second of two semifinal matchups on Thursday, November 4, at 4 p.m. ET, in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The win over the Buckeyes (9-8-2) came on a picture-perfect fall day in front of a lively Halloween crowd at Folk Field. The Boilermakers improved to 9-8-2 all-time in Big Ten Tournament play, 2-1-1 at home and 4-2-1 against Ohio State. West Lafayette hosted a postseason game for the fourth time ever and the first time since the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, and Purdue played on its home pitch for the first time since the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
"I feel like we came out exactly the way we wanted to, we did a nice job pressing them, putting them under pressure and created a ton of chances," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "The only thing that I wish we would have done obviously, in the first half, is get a goal, but we were knocking on the door and looking dangerous, keeping possession, so I was real pleased with that. In the second half, I just said 'Hey, let's continue to do what we're doing, keep the foot on the gas, and as soon as we get one we're going to shut them out and this game's going to be ours,' and that's exactly what happened. I love how our team competed. To get a shutout against a team like that really speaks highly of our whole team, 11 working together. It's just a great result on a great day in front of tremendous, supportive Boilermaker crowd. It's something that we've worked hard to get to, and today it was definitely a special day at Folk Field."
Purdue had 19 shots, 11 on target, to Ohio State's nine shots and three on goal. OSU's keeper made nine saves and the Buckeye defense cleared another ball off the line to prevent the Boilermakers from scoring more than once. The home side also had a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks, including 8-1 in the first half.
Griffith's goal came at 54:58, her 15th of the season to break the Purdue record of 14, set by Maddy Williams in 2017. Griffith also moves into third place in the single-season record book with 32 points and five game-winning goals. In her career, Griffith continues to rank No. 6 with 25 goals, while she moves into a tie for No. 5 with her 10th game-winning goal and is No. 8 with 58 points.
Meanwhile, senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova stopped all three shots she faced to notch her 14th win of the season, the most by a goalkeeper since 2007. It was her sixth shutout of the year as she continued to rise in Purdue's top-10 list.
In a single season, Bova moves up to No. 2 with 93 saves and into a tie for second with 14 wins. She is now tied for fifth with six shutouts and also moves into the top-10 for games started (19, T-9th) and minutes (1,746:39, 10th). In her career, Bova is now alone at No. 2 with 20 shutouts and No. 4 with 55 starts, and she continues to ranked No. 4 with 28 wins and 5,176:36 minutes and No. 5 with 210 saves.
Sarah Griffith's record-setting goal comes at the perfect time to give Purdue a 1-0 lead at 54:58!#BoilerUp 🚂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/9TtnsK3VX5
— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 31, 2021
Sunday's game-winning goal came in the 55th minute. After a flurry of offensive chances for the Old Gold and Black, Griffith passed the ball outside of the box, and two more passes found senior defender Maya Lambert just past the center circle. She then sent the ball to her left to senior midfielder Teagan Jones, near the far Big Ten logo. Jones received the pass, paused momentarily and delivered a volley to the top of the six-yard box. An OSU defender got a head on it, but it went right to Griffith, who moved to her right and fired a right-footed shot from eight yards out past one defender and into the left side of the net, beyond the arms of a diving Buckeye keeper.
The assist was Jones' fifth, third-most on the team, and Lambert's second. Jones now has eight career assists and Lambert has four.
Purdue had several great chances to score before and after Griffith's goal, but several fantastic saves by the Ohio State goalkeeper, and a ball cleared off the line, prevented the Boilermakers from finding another.
Griffith had a game-high seven shots, three on goal, while senior forward Sydney Duarte had four shots, two on target. Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews added three shots, two on goal.
Up next, Purdue advances to play Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal on Thursday, November 4, at 4 p.m. ET. The Big Ten Network will air the top-20 matchup, which will be played in Piscataway, New Jersey. No. 6-ranked and top-seeded Rutgers will host the semifinal and final, as the Scarlet Knights play No. 5-seed Iowa in Thursday's first semifinal.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.