Boilermakers Fall to Ninth-Ranked IrishBoilermakers Fall to Ninth-Ranked Irish
Lexi Ehle

Boilermakers Fall to Ninth-Ranked Irish

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In a closely-contested match, the Purdue soccer team lost to No. 9 Notre Dame, 3-1, on Thursday night at Folk Field.

Box Score Opens in a new window
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – In a closely-contested match, the Purdue soccer team lost to No. 9 Notre Dame, 3-1, on Thursday night at Folk Field.
 
The Boilermakers (3-4-0) and Fighting Irish (6-0-0) played a scoreless first half, with multiple chances for both teams, before UND scored two quick goals in the 59th minute. Purdue answered right back three minutes later on freshman forward Kayla Budish's first career goal in the 62nd minute to make it a 2-1 game. However, the home side could not find the equalizer, and Notre Dame added its third goal with seven minutes left.
 
Budish's goal was just the second allowed by UND this season. Purdue had six shots, tied for second-most allowed by Notre Dame this season, and three shots on goal, tied for the most the Fighting Irish have allowed in a game in 2022. Both teams had three corners, the fewest Notre Dame has earned in a contest this year and the most it has allowed. The Fighting Irish had 29 shots, though they were held them to seven shots on target, their fewest of the campaign.
 
Budish had five of Purdue's six shots and all three of the team's shots on goal. Senior forward Gabby Hollar came off the bench and also registered a shot. In goal, sophomore Sara Kile made four saves and her UND counterpart stopped two shots.
 
Thursday night was the third meeting between the two in-state foes in the last year, after they squared off twice in 2021, in the regular-season at Notre Dame and again in the NCAA Tournament Second Round in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The Fighting Irish traveled to West Lafayette for the first time in the series that began in 2002.
 
Purdue falls to 1-1 against top-25 opponents in 2022, along with a 3-0 win over No. 15 USC on opening night at Folk Field. Notre Dame entered the game in the top-12 nationally in each major poll.
 
The Fighting Irish had the first five shots in the game, one of which ended with a great save made by Kile. Budish then had a great opportunity in the 21st minute, with two shots from inside the 18-yard box on the right side, but both were blocked. The second attempt set up the first of two corner kicks within a minute for the Boilermakers, but they couldn't get a shot off.
 
After a great run in the 36th minute, Budish added another shot that was blocked away by the UND keeper to set up a Purdue corner kick. Two minutes later, Kile made another save, and she stopped her third chance in the 43rd minute. Hollar's shot wide closed out the first half.
 
Purdue was out-shot 10-4 in the opening 45 minutes and UND had a 3-1 edge in shots on target. The Boilermakers held a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks and both teams committed three fouls.
 
Notre Dame had the momentum early in the second half, with nine of the first 10 shots and a pair of goals within the opening 13 minutes. After the visitors registered the first shot in the opening minute, Budish had a chance saved.
 
The Fighting Irish found two quick goals in the 59th minute to take a 2-0 lead. Maddie Mercado scored at 58:08 off the rebound on a ball that bounced off the top-left corner of the post. Kiki Van Zanten then found the back of the net at 58:43 on a goal assisted by Berkley Mensik.
 
Purdue answered right back though just three minutes later, as Budish scored her first goal at 61:58. Senior midfielder Sydney Duarte sent a short pass across midfield to junior midfielder Emily Mathews, who dribbled upfield and sent a ball in to the top of the 18-yard box looking for Budish. The ball got to the Notre Dame defender first, but she deflected the ball up and over the UND keeper, who was more than 10 yards off her line. It was a race to the ball that was bouncing towards the goal line, and Budish beat the keeper to it and headed it in to the open net.
 

A perfect time for your first collegiate goal!#BoilerUp 🚂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/4H7FB8ET7K

— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) September 9, 2022

That made it a 2-1 game, but the home side could not get the tying goal. Budish's score proved to be the Boilermakers' last shot of the game, though they continued to look for chances in the final third.
 
Notre Dame scored its third goal at 82:09 on a goal by Korbin Albert, assisted by Mercado.
 
UND had a 19-2 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in shots on goal in the second half. The visiting side had two corner kicks and allowed none and Purdue had four fouls to Notre Dame's three in the final 45 minutes.
 
After a nine-day layoff, Big Ten play commences at Northwestern on Sunday, September 18, at 2 p.m. ET. Purdue then returns home to host Wisconsin for a nationally-televised contest on ESPNU on Thursday, September 22, at 5 p.m. ET. Admission is free for all fans to every regular-season home game at Folk Field in 2022. Purdue's originally-schedule game for this Sunday, September 11, was canceled in early August, due to a change in Long Beach State's travel schedule.
 
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.