Oct. 8, 2015
Columbus, Ohio
Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium
Ohio State 3 (7-3-3, 2-2-2 B1G), Purdue 2 (7-6-0 overall, 2-4-0 B1G)
Attendance: 709
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State women’s soccer team topped Purdue, 3-2, Thursday night at Bert L. & Iris S. Wolstein Field at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 7-3-3 overall, 2-2-2 in the Big Ten, while the Boilermakers drop to 7-6-0 overall, 2-4-0 in conference play.
“I’m really proud of the effort the team put in tonight,” Lori Walker, Ohio State head coach, said. “We tried to make practice as enjoyable as possible this past week and it started to show today. They were stepping into tackles really hard and played with their heart and soul.”
Ohio State wasted no time taking the early lead in the third minute when Lindsay Agnew played a beautiful through ball to a streaking Sammy Edwards, who finished past Purdue goalkeeper Erika Yohn from 10 yards.
Purdue responded in the 13th minute when Erika Arkans tracked down a Melissa Casella long ball and flicked it over the head of Ohio State goalkeeper Devon Kerr to knot the match at 1-1.
The Boilermakers had another chance in the 18th minute when Maddy Williams slipped in behind the Ohio State defense but Kerr came out to force a shot from eight yards to narrowly miss wide right.
The Buckeyes regained the lead in the 34th minute when Nya Cason played a ball to Michela Paradiso on the left wing and the senior co-captain beat a pair of Purdue defenders along the left end line before beating Yohn near post from inside the six-yard box for the 2-1 Ohio State advantage.
Five minutes later, Paradiso had consecutive chances to double the Ohio State lead. The first was a shot from 12 yards on the left wing that was cleared off the line by a Purdue defender before she drilled a shot from 20 yards moments later that deflected off a Boilermaker and narrowly sailed over the crossbar as the Buckeyes took the 2-1 lead into the break.
Through the first 45 minutes, Ohio State held an 8-5 lead in shots, including 5-1 on goal. Each team tallied two corner kicks in the first half.
Ohio State came out of the half strong, almost adding another tally in the 48th minute. Nikki Walts played a cross in from the right wing toward the center of the box and Edwards connected on a diving header but Yohn was there to make the stop to keep it a 2-1 game.
Purdue knotted it up at 2-2 in the 61st minute when Williams gathered just outside the top of the box and fired a shot that deflected off Kerr and into the back of the net for her seventh goal of the year.
The Buckeyes answered right back in the 67th minute when Walts curled a shot from 25 yards on the left wing inside the right post to give Ohio State the 3-2 advantage.
The Boilermakers had another chance in the 78th minute when Gianna Milaro dribbled between a pair of Ohio State defenders and fired a strike from 20 yards but the shot sailed just over the crossbar as the Buckeyes picked up their second Big Ten victory of the year.
For the game, Purdue held a narrow 14-13 advantage in shots with Ohio State leading 8-4 on goal and 6-2 on corner kicks.
Ohio State hosts Maryland at 1 p.m. Sunday in Columbus.
