PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 19-ranked and second-seeded Purdue soccer team was bested by No. 13-ranked and third-seeded Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal, 4-1, on Thursday afternoon at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, New Jersey.
The Boilermakers (14-4-2), who had won six of their last seven going into the semifinal, saw their three-game win streak come to an end with the defeat. As Purdue awaits the NCAA Selections Show on Monday, its record remains its best since 2007.
Sophomore forward Callie Ingram scored her first career goal in the 84th minute, but the Wolverines (14-3-3) had a 2-0 lead at halftime and led 4-0 in the 58th minute.
"When you play a team with as much attacking talent as Michigan, you have to really be ready to have your best day defensively, from an individual standpoint and from a collective standpoint," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "Unfortunately today we were a little bit off the pace in a couple key moments that changed the game early on. I liked our team's fight, I liked how we competed, but we just needed our best performance today in order to beat a team as talented as Michigan. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come up with that."
In its 12th Big Ten Tournament, Purdue advanced to the semifinal for the seventh time in program history. It was the Boilermakers' second semifinal appearance in three years after a 10-year hiatus. The Old Gold and Black are now 9-9-2 all-time in the tournament and 1-5-1 in the semifinal.
Purdue was out-shot 24-7 and had six shots on goal to Michigan's eight. No Boilermaker had more than one shot in the contest. Senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made four saves, and her UM counterpart stopped five shots.
Ingram's goal came at 83:10, as she found the back of the net on her third career shot. From just inside the near corner of the penalty box, senior midfielder Aly Mielke fired a shot that hit the crossbar. The ball ricocheted down to senior forward Ally Mussallem, who deflected it in the air to Ingram. From five yards away near the top of the goal box, Ingram scored with her left foot to the right of a diving UM keeper.
Mussallem earned the assist on Ingram's first goal, her second helper of the season and fifth of her career.
Senior midfielder Teagan Jones had the first shot of the game in the fifth minute, which was blocked, and Bova made her first save in the 17th minute. Two Michigan shots were forced wide and one off the post followed before the Wolverines took a 1-0 lead at 26:18 on a goal by Meredith Haakenson.
Bova made another save less than a minute later, and senior forward Sarah Griffith had a great chance that was saved in the 32nd minute. On the ensuing corner, Mussallem nearly found the equalizer, but it was saved.
The Wolverines extended their advantage to 2-0 at 40:52 thanks to Hannah Blake, and freshman midfielder Sydney Boudreau had a shot saved in the 43rd minute, the last chance for either team before halftime.
A Bova save in the 53rd minute opened the second half before a yellow card was issued inside the box three minutes later. At 55:08, Danielle Wolfe converted on the penalty kick to make it 3-0. Nicki Hernandez scored just under three minutes later, at 57:56, to give Michigan a 4-0 lead.
Seven UM shots followed, six that were forced wide and one blocked. Then came Mielke's shot off the crossbar, and Ingram's goal in the 84th minute.
Bova made one more save, in the 88th minute, on the game's final shot.
Up next for Purdue is the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which is set for Monday, November 8, at 4:30 p.m. ET. The show will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
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.
The Boilermakers (14-4-2), who had won six of their last seven going into the semifinal, saw their three-game win streak come to an end with the defeat. As Purdue awaits the NCAA Selections Show on Monday, its record remains its best since 2007.
Sophomore forward Callie Ingram scored her first career goal in the 84th minute, but the Wolverines (14-3-3) had a 2-0 lead at halftime and led 4-0 in the 58th minute.
"When you play a team with as much attacking talent as Michigan, you have to really be ready to have your best day defensively, from an individual standpoint and from a collective standpoint," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "Unfortunately today we were a little bit off the pace in a couple key moments that changed the game early on. I liked our team's fight, I liked how we competed, but we just needed our best performance today in order to beat a team as talented as Michigan. Unfortunately, we weren't able to come up with that."
In its 12th Big Ten Tournament, Purdue advanced to the semifinal for the seventh time in program history. It was the Boilermakers' second semifinal appearance in three years after a 10-year hiatus. The Old Gold and Black are now 9-9-2 all-time in the tournament and 1-5-1 in the semifinal.
Purdue was out-shot 24-7 and had six shots on goal to Michigan's eight. No Boilermaker had more than one shot in the contest. Senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made four saves, and her UM counterpart stopped five shots.
Ingram's goal came at 83:10, as she found the back of the net on her third career shot. From just inside the near corner of the penalty box, senior midfielder Aly Mielke fired a shot that hit the crossbar. The ball ricocheted down to senior forward Ally Mussallem, who deflected it in the air to Ingram. From five yards away near the top of the goal box, Ingram scored with her left foot to the right of a diving UM keeper.
Mussallem earned the assist on Ingram's first goal, her second helper of the season and fifth of her career.
Senior midfielder Teagan Jones had the first shot of the game in the fifth minute, which was blocked, and Bova made her first save in the 17th minute. Two Michigan shots were forced wide and one off the post followed before the Wolverines took a 1-0 lead at 26:18 on a goal by Meredith Haakenson.
Bova made another save less than a minute later, and senior forward Sarah Griffith had a great chance that was saved in the 32nd minute. On the ensuing corner, Mussallem nearly found the equalizer, but it was saved.
The Wolverines extended their advantage to 2-0 at 40:52 thanks to Hannah Blake, and freshman midfielder Sydney Boudreau had a shot saved in the 43rd minute, the last chance for either team before halftime.
A Bova save in the 53rd minute opened the second half before a yellow card was issued inside the box three minutes later. At 55:08, Danielle Wolfe converted on the penalty kick to make it 3-0. Nicki Hernandez scored just under three minutes later, at 57:56, to give Michigan a 4-0 lead.
Seven UM shots followed, six that were forced wide and one blocked. Then came Mielke's shot off the crossbar, and Ingram's goal in the 84th minute.
Bova made one more save, in the 88th minute, on the game's final shot.
Up next for Purdue is the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, which is set for Monday, November 8, at 4:30 p.m. ET. The show will be broadcast on NCAA.com.
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.