Purdue Fights for Sunday Win at K-StatePurdue Fights for Sunday Win at K-State

Purdue Fights for Sunday Win at K-State

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Purdue Soccer team earned a hard-fought, 2-1 victory at Kansas State on Sunday afternoon.

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MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Purdue Soccer team earned a hard-fought, 2-1 victory at Kansas State on Sunday afternoon at Buser Family Park in Manhattan, Kansas.
 
The Boilermakers (3-3-0) took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute and extended the advantage to 2-0 in the 25th. They then withstood having to play the final 47 minutes with 10 players after a second yellow card was shown in the 43rd minute. Despite being down a starter on the back line for the entire second half, Purdue continued to control possession while holding the Wildcats (2-3-1) to one goal, in the 87th minute.
 
Sophomore goalkeeper Sara Kile had one of the best performances of her career, as she made a career-best 11 saves to nearly double her previous best of six. Her final save was stopping a penalty kick in the 80th minute that at the time kept K-State goalless. Kile's 11 saves are tied for fourth-most in a single game in program history and the most since Jordan Ginther also had 11 in a 2016 contest against Rutgers.
 
Junior forward Zoie Allen scored her first goal of the season in the fifth minute, and sophomore forward Gracie Dunaway netted her Big Ten-leading fourth of the season in the 25th minute. It was Dunaway's first career game-winning goal. Junior midfielder Emily Mathews, who assisted on Allen's score, led the team with two shots.
 
Purdue was out-shot 19-7, and K-State had a 12-5 advantage in shots on goal, though the visiting side controlled play and had quality opportunities in the final third throughout the contest, including down a player in the second half. As such, the Boilermakers registered eight corner kicks to Kansas State's five. A total of five yellow cards were shown in the match.
 

Fought hard for this one!! 😤#BoilerUp 🚂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/MNefdIhV44

— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) September 4, 2022

The Boilermakers wasted no time finding the back of the net, as Allen scored at 4:57 to give the visitors a 1-0 lead. It came on a beautifully-placed cross from Mathews, who centered the ball to Allen for her to tap in from eight yards out.
 
Kile made her first save in the eighth minute, and Mathews followed less than two minutes later with a chance that was saved. Back-to-back saves for Kile followed in the 13th and 14th minutes. Freshman defender Riley Knudsen then had a header saved off a free kick 30 seconds later.
 
Two more Kile saves followed before Dunaway extended the Boilermaker advantage to 2-0 at 24:04. Fifth-year midfielder Sydney Duarte sent a long ball past the defense to Dunaway, who scored from just outside the 18-yard box.
 
Kile preserved the 2-0 game with another save in the 38th minute before a second yellow card was issued at 42:26 that forced Purdue to play the remainder of the game with 10 players. Kile closed the half with her seventh and final save of the opening 45 minutes.
 
K-State had 11 shots, seven on goal, while Purdue had five shots and four chances on target in the first half. All seven shots Kile faced were saved, as she eclipsed her previous career high of six saves in just 45 minutes.
 
The second half began with back-to-back saves by Kile in the first five minutes. Five minutes later, Kile's 10th save of the day was possibly her biggest yet, as she stepped up to stop a breakaway chance.
 
That save ended up being one of the last chances for K-State in the game, as the defense prevented the home side from having many more good looks in the final third in the remaining 30 minutes of play.
 
Duarte had a great opportunity to make it 3-0 in the 66th minute, but Kansas State's keeper made a leaping save to poke the ball up and over the crossbar.
 
Kile stopped a penalty kick for her 11th and final save at 79:05. After a foul was called just inside the 18-yard box, Kile made the save on the ensuing penalty, and the defense cleared away the rebound.
 

11 saves!! 🙌🙌

Sara Kile's latest save is her biggest yet, as she stops a penalty kick to keep K-State scoreless!

80' - Purdue 2, K-State 0

📺 ESPN+#BoilerUp 🚂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/ic6n1Zx5sT

— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) September 4, 2022

After more than 42 minutes with an extra player, Kansas State found the back of the net at 86:15 on a goal by Kyler Goins. The unassisted score made it 2-1, but that's as close as K-State got in the contest.
 
The visitors were out-shot 8-2 in the final 45 minutes and the Wildcats had a 5-1 advantage in shots on goal. Purdue had three corner kicks to Kansas State's two.
 
Up next, the Boilermakers return home to host in-state foe and No. 16-ranked Notre Dame on Thursday, September 8. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. ET at Folk Field, and admission is free for all fans to every regular-season home game in 2022.
 
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.