Oct. 9, 2016
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 19 Ohio State women’s soccer team scored four times in its second-consecutive contest, defeating Purdue, 4-1, Sunday afternoon in West Lafayette, Ind. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 9-4-2, 3-2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Boilermakers drop to 3-10-1, 1-6-0 in conference play.
“Getting two road wins this weekend was very important for us,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “At halftime, I challenged our team to play like champions. Regardless of the score, we needed to be sharper with our passes, more active off the ball and more demanding of each other to perform. I am most pleased that the players responded to that challenge. Our second half execution was fantastic.”
EDWARDS PUTS BUCKS AHEAD WITH HER THIRD IN TWO GAMES
Sammy Edwards finished off her third goal in two contests to put Ohio State ahead 1-0 in the eighth minute. Nicole Miyashiro was able to get a cross off from the right wing and found Edwards at the six-yard box for a diving header to the Buckeye advantage.
PRINCE NARROWLY MISSES IN 16th
The Buckeyes almost doubled their lead in the 16th minute when a Nikki Walts through ball bounced off a Purdue defender right to Nichelle Prince but Prince’s shot from 15 yards out just trickled wide left as it remained a one-goal contest.
GELDERNICK PRESERVES BUCKEYE LEAD IN THE 27th
Purdue had an opportunity to tie the match in the 27th minute when a loose ball fell to Erika Arkans at the top of the box but Ohio State goalkeeper Megan Geldernick was able to deflect the shot from 16 yards over the crossbar to keep it a 1-0 Ohio State lead.
WOLCOTT MAKES IT 2-0 OSU
In the 39th minute, a Purdue defender was able to get a head on a Miyashiro long ball but it fell right to the foot of Morgan Wolcott, who snuck a left-footed strike from 15 yards inside the right post for the 2-0 Buckeye advantage at the end of the first half.
PRINCE SCORES THIRD (AND FOURTH) OF THE YEAR
Ohio State extended its lead to 3-0 in the 53rd minute when Edwards slotted a through ball to Nichelle Prince just inside midfield and Prince did the rest, converting a one-on-one chance with Purdue goalkeeper Jordan Ginther from 12 yards for the Buckeyes’ third goal of the contest.
Two minutes later, Bridget Skinner found Prince at the top left corner of the box and Prince finished far post for her second of the game, fourth of the season and a 4-0 Ohio State advantage.
HOLDEN ALMOST PUSHES LEAD TO 5-0
In the 70th minute, Arden Holden found herself open in the middle of the box and tried to curl a left-footed shot inside the left post but it narrowly missed wide as the score remained 4-0.
MILARO SCORES FOR PURDUE
Five minutes later, Gianna Milaro took advantage of a Buckeye giveaway and finished past Ohio State goalkeeper Devon Kerr from 15 yards to make it a 4-1 contest.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Shots: Ohio State 20, Purdue 14
Saves: Purdue 6, Ohio State 5
Shots on Goal: Ohio State 10, Purdue 6
Corner Kicks: Ohio State 12, Purdue 5
BUCKEYE BITS
– Ohio State moved to 24-0-2 when scoring at least two goals dating back to the start of 2014, including 8-0-1 this year.
– The four-goal game was the third for the Buckeyes this season after a 4-2 win against Wright State Aug. 23 and a 4-0 win at Maryland Thursday night.
– Ohio State’s scoreless streak was cut just shy of 400 minutes on Milaro’s goal in the 75th minute.
UP NEXT
Ohio State hosts Indiana at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
