WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team battled to a 0-0 draw against No. 4 Penn State on Thursday night at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The result is Purdue's best against a top-10 foe since a 1-0 win at No. 7 Wisconsin in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. It is the squad's second-ever win or draw against a top-five opponent, along with a 1-0 win over top-ranked Portland in 2007 in Seattle. Tonight is the Boilermakers' first game against a top-five-ranked team since a 2-0 loss at No. 4 West Virginia in 2016.
Penn State is the fifth top-25 foe the Boilermakers have faced this year. In total, 11 of Purdue's first 15 opponents are or have been ranked nationally for at least one week during the 2023 campaign.
The Boilermakers shut out the Nittany Lions for the first time in program history, and PSU was held without a goal for just the second time this season, along with a 0-0 contest against No. 2 North Carolina in the season opener on August 17. Penn State was shut out in Big Ten play for the first time since October 2, 2022, which also was the last time an unranked foe held them without a goal before Purdue did it tonight.
Along with its first-ever shutout, Purdue earned a draw for the third time in the series history against Penn State. The first two ties were in 2001 at home, 1-1, and in 2017 on the road, 2-2. PSU was ranked in those two matches as well, at No. 7 in 2001 and No. 9 in 2017. The Boilermakers are now 1-18-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions, and Penn State has been in the top-25 in all but three of those 22 meetings. Thursday night was the fifth time that PSU was in the top-five nationally.
Thursday was Purdue's annual Hammer Down Cancer game. The team wore special uniforms, and the jerseys are being auctioned now through Friday, October 13, at 11:59 a.m. at https://boile.rs/SocHDC23. All proceeds benefit the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
The Boilermakers (3-10-2, 0-5-2 Big Ten) had eight shots and four shots on goal in the contest. The Nittany Lions (11-0-3, 5-0-2 Big Ten) had 22 shots, eight on target. PSU held an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks and the visitors were called for four fouls and Purdue had 12. Three yellow cards were issued, two to Purdue and one to Penn State.
Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Cyr made a season-best seven saves to earn her first shutout in her inaugural campaign with the Old Gold and Black. Another ball was cleared off the line to help preserve the shutout, the second of the season for the Boilermakers. The Purdue defense has allowed two or fewer goals in all but three games in 2023, with a pair of clean sheets.
Senior midfielder Emily Mathews led the team with two shots and was one of four Boilermakers with a shot on goal. Six other players registered one shot.
PSU's goalkeeper stopped all four shots she faced to counter Cyr's seven saves.
Freshman forward Lauren Omholt had a great chance just four minutes in, as a centering ball into the penalty area from redshirt junior Victoria Kevdzija resulted in a shot from eight yards out. However, the Penn State keeper made a diving save to prevent the goal.
Two minutes later, Mathews had a shot blocked. That came shortly after a Purdue corner kick and set up another corner.
The defense then forced a pair of shots off target, with one blocked shot. Senior forward Zoie Allen followed with an opportunity high in the 10th minute.
Cyr's first save was a great one in the 14th minute, as she jumped up to poke the ball out and over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick, the visitors could not get a shot off.
Two more saves by Cyr came in the 20th and 26th minutes, on long shots in from the right side on the edge of the penalty area. Both shots went right to Cyr, and she made the stops.
A Penn State free kick resulted in a header that went high in the 30th minute, and another shot was blocked by the defense four minutes later.
Junior forward Megan Hutchinson had a big impact in the final five minutes of the first half. First it was a shot that was saved in the 43rd minute, and then it was when she cleared the ball off the line with 40 seconds left in the half. A short Penn State corner kick just into the six-yard box was headed on goal past Cyr, who was on the near post. However, Hutchinson was there to head the ball out and off the line to prevent the goal.
Penn State held a 10-4 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in shots on goal in the first 45 minutes of play.
Purdue had the first chance of the second half, as junior defender Sydney Boudreau had a shot off target in the 51st minute after a pair of throw-ins.
A blocked shot set up a corner kick in the 56th minute, which then led to Cyr making her first save of the half and fifth of the day. Mathews then registered a chance that was saved two minutes later, and Kevdzija had a shot wide less than a minute after that.
Omholt applied pressure on Penn State's keeper in the 60th minute that almost resulted in a shot off the turnover, but the visitors held possession.
Another blocked shot for the Boilermaker back line came in the 61st minute, followed by Cyr's sixth save. The Nittany Lions continued to apply pressure in the final third, with a chance blocked and a shot wide that kept the game goalless after 68 minutes.
One of Penn State's best chances came in the 73rd minute, with a pair of shots from within the six-yard box off a corner kick. However, the two shots PSU got off were within traffic, and both were blocked before they found Cyr and the goal line.
Cyr's seventh save came in the 81st minute after another blocked shot.
Two more shots occurred in the final 70 seconds, one by each team. The first was saved by Cyr, and the second came off the foot of senior midfielder Nicole Kevdzija that also was saved.
The visiting side out-shot Purdue 12-4 in the second half, with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Up next, Purdue begins its final roadtrip of the 2023 regular season with a short trip west to face Illinois on Sunday, October 15. Kickoff in Champaign is at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT. Following a contest at Nebraska on October 19, the Boilermakers are back home for the regular-season finale on Sunday, October 22, against Minnesota. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET at Folk Field, and admission is free for all fans to the contest.
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 result is Purdue's best against a top-10 foe since a 1-0 win at No. 7 Wisconsin in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. It is the squad's second-ever win or draw against a top-five opponent, along with a 1-0 win over top-ranked Portland in 2007 in Seattle. Tonight is the Boilermakers' first game against a top-five-ranked team since a 2-0 loss at No. 4 West Virginia in 2016.
Penn State is the fifth top-25 foe the Boilermakers have faced this year. In total, 11 of Purdue's first 15 opponents are or have been ranked nationally for at least one week during the 2023 campaign.
The Boilermakers shut out the Nittany Lions for the first time in program history, and PSU was held without a goal for just the second time this season, along with a 0-0 contest against No. 2 North Carolina in the season opener on August 17. Penn State was shut out in Big Ten play for the first time since October 2, 2022, which also was the last time an unranked foe held them without a goal before Purdue did it tonight.
Along with its first-ever shutout, Purdue earned a draw for the third time in the series history against Penn State. The first two ties were in 2001 at home, 1-1, and in 2017 on the road, 2-2. PSU was ranked in those two matches as well, at No. 7 in 2001 and No. 9 in 2017. The Boilermakers are now 1-18-3 all-time against the Nittany Lions, and Penn State has been in the top-25 in all but three of those 22 meetings. Thursday night was the fifth time that PSU was in the top-five nationally.
Thursday was Purdue's annual Hammer Down Cancer game. The team wore special uniforms, and the jerseys are being auctioned now through Friday, October 13, at 11:59 a.m. at https://boile.rs/SocHDC23. All proceeds benefit the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
The Boilermakers (3-10-2, 0-5-2 Big Ten) had eight shots and four shots on goal in the contest. The Nittany Lions (11-0-3, 5-0-2 Big Ten) had 22 shots, eight on target. PSU held an 8-2 advantage in corner kicks and the visitors were called for four fouls and Purdue had 12. Three yellow cards were issued, two to Purdue and one to Penn State.
Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Cyr made a season-best seven saves to earn her first shutout in her inaugural campaign with the Old Gold and Black. Another ball was cleared off the line to help preserve the shutout, the second of the season for the Boilermakers. The Purdue defense has allowed two or fewer goals in all but three games in 2023, with a pair of clean sheets.
Senior midfielder Emily Mathews led the team with two shots and was one of four Boilermakers with a shot on goal. Six other players registered one shot.
PSU's goalkeeper stopped all four shots she faced to counter Cyr's seven saves.
Freshman forward Lauren Omholt had a great chance just four minutes in, as a centering ball into the penalty area from redshirt junior Victoria Kevdzija resulted in a shot from eight yards out. However, the Penn State keeper made a diving save to prevent the goal.
Two minutes later, Mathews had a shot blocked. That came shortly after a Purdue corner kick and set up another corner.
The defense then forced a pair of shots off target, with one blocked shot. Senior forward Zoie Allen followed with an opportunity high in the 10th minute.
Cyr's first save was a great one in the 14th minute, as she jumped up to poke the ball out and over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick, the visitors could not get a shot off.
Two more saves by Cyr came in the 20th and 26th minutes, on long shots in from the right side on the edge of the penalty area. Both shots went right to Cyr, and she made the stops.
A Penn State free kick resulted in a header that went high in the 30th minute, and another shot was blocked by the defense four minutes later.
Junior forward Megan Hutchinson had a big impact in the final five minutes of the first half. First it was a shot that was saved in the 43rd minute, and then it was when she cleared the ball off the line with 40 seconds left in the half. A short Penn State corner kick just into the six-yard box was headed on goal past Cyr, who was on the near post. However, Hutchinson was there to head the ball out and off the line to prevent the goal.
Penn State held a 10-4 advantage in shots and a 4-2 edge in shots on goal in the first 45 minutes of play.
Purdue had the first chance of the second half, as junior defender Sydney Boudreau had a shot off target in the 51st minute after a pair of throw-ins.
A blocked shot set up a corner kick in the 56th minute, which then led to Cyr making her first save of the half and fifth of the day. Mathews then registered a chance that was saved two minutes later, and Kevdzija had a shot wide less than a minute after that.
Omholt applied pressure on Penn State's keeper in the 60th minute that almost resulted in a shot off the turnover, but the visitors held possession.
Another blocked shot for the Boilermaker back line came in the 61st minute, followed by Cyr's sixth save. The Nittany Lions continued to apply pressure in the final third, with a chance blocked and a shot wide that kept the game goalless after 68 minutes.
One of Penn State's best chances came in the 73rd minute, with a pair of shots from within the six-yard box off a corner kick. However, the two shots PSU got off were within traffic, and both were blocked before they found Cyr and the goal line.
Cyr's seventh save came in the 81st minute after another blocked shot.
Two more shots occurred in the final 70 seconds, one by each team. The first was saved by Cyr, and the second came off the foot of senior midfielder Nicole Kevdzija that also was saved.
The visiting side out-shot Purdue 12-4 in the second half, with a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal.
Up next, Purdue begins its final roadtrip of the 2023 regular season with a short trip west to face Illinois on Sunday, October 15. Kickoff in Champaign is at 2 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. CT. Following a contest at Nebraska on October 19, the Boilermakers are back home for the regular-season finale on Sunday, October 22, against Minnesota. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. ET at Folk Field, and admission is free for all fans to the contest.
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.