Bolstered by a record attendance of 3,296 at Fork Field, which was largely made up of the Boiler Gold Rush crowd, Purdue defeated the highest-ranked opponent they had beaten since 2006.
Purdue (1-0) shutout No. 15 Southern California (0-1) 3-0 season opener Thursday night at Fork Field.
Even head coach Drew Loff did not foresee a victory of this magnitude.
Head coach Drew Loff said, “I’d be lying if I said I planned to win three goals and keep a clean sheet.” I loved my team and believed in them, but I couldn’t have predicted that.
Another unexpected thing was the tremendous amount of support. The number of visitors exceeded the previous year by more than 1,000.
Freshman forward Naomi Splittorff said, “We knew there would be more people than we had before. We knew BGR was going to be big, but we never expected more than 1,000 people in attendance.” did not.”
Splittorff said he was overwhelmed during the warm-up but settled into the game.
“I was like, ‘This is a lot of people and this is a little bit scary,'” she said.
Women’s basketball head coach Katie Gearles was one of 3,200 who attended.
Purdue Women’s Basketball Head Coach Katie Gearles shares her experience with the Purdue vs. Southern California soccer game so far.
“I hate to say it, but I didn’t come to the soccer game last year. Now I can’t imagine not making everything (as much as I can),” says Gearlds. “I wish I could bottle this (atmosphere) into every women’s soccer game, every game, softball, every women’s sport.
“I can hear my students. It sounds like they’re having a good time. It’s just a matter of getting out there and supporting women.”
Kyle Goeglein, a BGR freshman who studies cybersecurity, said the energy in the game was unlike anything he’d seen before.
“It was the most fun and insane thing I’ve ever done in my life,” Gegrain said. “I have never in my life seen him in one area with so many people in just one football match of his. High energy and everyone having fun.”
Students from the Boiler Gold Rush are pounding boards in the fork field and cheering for the Purdue soccer team. 3,296 attendees attended the game, setting a record attendance for the season opener and No. 15 Southern California.
The first half was largely a defensive battle, with the only goal two minutes before half-time. The second half was highlighted by a fine attacking performance from sophomore forward Gracie Dunaway.
The Boilers’ second goal of the game came in the 13th minute of the second half with an assist from Dunaway by freshman forward Kay Lovedish. The play was set up after sophomore goaltender Sara Kile made an impressive diving save and counterattacked.
The save was Kyle’s second by a minute after numerous chances for the Trojans to find openings.
Roff named the goal as the most impactful moment of the match. Going halfway forward is one thing. Coming back and scoring again before his opponents equalized was another thing, he said, which gave the team confidence.
Fifth grade senior midfielder Sidney Duarte, freshman defender Sabrina Blunt and sophomore forward Gracie Dunaway celebrate Dunaway’s second goal in a 3-0 win over No. 15 Southern California.
“I think we knew after the first half that we would be playing with them,” said Roff. “But scoring that second[goal]brought the house down. I thought the crowd was just going crazy. Our bench was really excited. I think it gave us the push to say, ‘Yeah, we really can do this.
Dunaway scored again with about 20 minutes remaining in the game. This time, right in front of the goalkeeper, fifth-year midfielder Sydney dodged his Duarte cross and sneaked through the Trojans. The goal was assisted by Duarte and freshman defender Riley Knudsen.
The first goal of the game did not come until the 30th minute mark. Splittorff finally broke through the USC defense, and with two minutes left, his Purdue offense for the rest of the time he failed to break through the Trojan defense.
Purdue had two chances to set up crosses around the 8th minute but missed. The Trojan defense stifled many of the Boilers’ attempts to set up shots in the second half, stealing the ball or denying cross opportunities.
The Boilermakers had just four shots with two on goal in the first half. On the USC offense, meanwhile, he had 11 shots, three of which were on goal.
Splittorff was one of five freshmen to play. Freshman defender Sabrina Blunt started alongside Knudsen and Vudish with 1 and 2 assists respectively.
“For their college debut, you can’t ask for better,” said Loff. “It’s your first college game playing in front of 3,200 people and it should be nerve-wracking, right? I was very impressed with their poise and quality of what they do.”
It was a dominant offensive show, but Kyle’s six saves were essential to the shutout. Kyle sat behind goaltender Marisa Bova, now a member of North Carolina College, for most of last year, and he played just 11 minutes last season. Today’s game was the first start of her Purdue career.
“She got the job done with a couple of big time saves,” said Loff. “In her first official start, she’s been amazing. It’s her impressive performance to keep her clean sheet on her first day against USC.”
Purdue will play at Folk Field next Sunday at Vanderbilt at 1pm. As with all home football matches, viewing is free.
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