WOMENS SOCCER: Irish continue on string of bad luck in 3-1 loss to Purdue
By JOE LICANDRO
Sports Writer
Soccer can be a very frustrating sport. Sometimes one team can take three times as many shots as the other team, yet still end up on the wrong side of the outcome.
Tuesday night, the Notre Dame womens soccer team outplayed Purdue for almost the entire game, but still lost 3-1. The Irish outshot the Boilermakers 15 to four, but three of Purdue's shots found the back of the net, propelling them to victory.
Playing their third game in a span of six days, the Irish were hoping that a win against No. 20 Purdue would help erase some of the bad memories from Sunday's tough 3-0 road loss to ninth-rankedWest Virginia. Unfortunately, the first half against Purdue was all too familiar for a Notre Dame team that has struggled recently.
In the 25th minute, Purdue defender Chrissy Creamer took a shot from 10 yards beyond the goalie box that curled over the outstretched arms of Irish goalkeeper Erika Bohn to give the Boilermakers a 1-0 lead.
Less than two minutes later, the Boilermakers tacked on another goal when Purdue's Annette Kent sent a shot past Bohn on a golden one-on-one opportunity.
With just under four minutes left in the first half, the Boilermakers struck a third time. This time forward Jennie Moppert streaked past the Irish defense to a loose ball on the right sideline. Teammate Jessica Baumhoff took Moppert's pass and promptly shot the ball to the right corner of the net.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, the Irish offense finally broke through when forward Amy Warner slipped past the Purdue defense and sent a cross to Katie Thorlakson. Purdue goalie Jacelyn Cavalier deflected Thorlakson's shot, but Irish forward Amanda Guertin quickly pounced on the rebound for her fifth goal of the season.
Midfielder and senior captain Ashley Dryer could only play five minutes of the game due to an ankle injury that has kept her out of action the past few weeks. The Irish were also without starting forward Melissa Tancredi, who served a one-game suspension for receiving her fifth yellow card Sunday and defender Gudrun Gunnarsdottir, who just returned to action last weekend from a stress fracture but went down with another injury with 17 minutes left in the contest. It is unlikely that she will play this Sunday against Connecticut.
With the loss, Notre Dame's record dropped to 7-6 on the season. While the Irish have already been eliminated from the Big East post-season tournament, they still could receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament provided they perform well in their last five games.
All Sports Stories for Wednesday, October 9, 2002
