UW Topped by No. 11 Purdue in Big Ten Opener
September 28, 2007 | Women's Soccer
In its Big Ten season opener, the Wisconsin women's soccer team fell on the road to 11th-ranked Purdue, 4-0, in West Lafayette, Ind. Friday afternoon.
'Purdue is a very good team,' head coach Paula Wilkins said. 'I think they are going to be one of the top teams Big Ten this year, so it is important for us to learn from this game. Purdue showed us what level we need to be at to play in the Big Ten.'
With the home field advantage, Purdue struck quickly in the first half off a corner kick by senior Shauna Stapleton. On the set piece, freshman Jessica Stellhorn headed the ball to the far post to put the Boilermakers up 1-0.
Goals in the 27th and 35th minute by the Boilermakers, gave the home team a 3-0 lead heading into the break.
In the second half, Wisconsin displayed a more physical presence against a tough offensive Purdue squad. Despite putting more pressure on the Boildermakers and making more tackles, Purdue out-played the Badgers, scoring one more goal in the second half.
UW's best scoring opportunity of the game came at the 84-minute mark off a shot by Krista Liskevych (Encinitas, Calif.) on Wisconsin's first corner kick of the match.
UW keeper Jamie Klages (Coronado, Calif.) ended the game with three saves, while Purdue netminder Jenny Bradfisch stopped two Wisconsin shots, earning her ninth-straight win and seventh-straight shutout for the Boilermakers.
In the game, the Badgers were out-shot by the Boilermakers 15-to-4. Purdue's Stapleton took three shots in the game, the most in the match, and finished with one goal and two assists for four points.
The loss dropped Wisconsin to 3-4-1 overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten, while Purdue improved to 9-1-1 overall and 1-0 in the conference.
The match, which was broadcast live on the Big Ten Network, began at 4 p.m. CST.
The Wisconsin women's soccer team will be featured live on the Big Ten Network one more time this season as it takes on Ohio State in Madison, Wis. on Oct. 7.
On Sunday, Wisconsin continues its weekend tour in Indiana, as it heads to Bloomington to take on Indiana University, who owns a 6-1-1 overall record. Fans can follow the match via GameTracker by clicking event=542584&school=ind&sport=wsoccer&%27,%27GameTrackerwsoccer%27,%27toolbar=no,resizeable=no,scrollbars=no,width=976,height=700"> --> here .
'After seeing the speed of Purdue we need to prepare tonight and tomorrow to raise our level to take on a good Indiana team on Sunday, and grow as a team overall, ' Wilkins added.
