No. 8 Purdue Downs MSU Women's Soccer, 2-0

Oct. 5, 2007

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 8 Purdue broke a scoreless match wide open early in the second half, scoring two goals just after haltime to down the Michigan State women's soccer team, 2-0, on Friday afternoon at Old College Field. The loss drops the Spartans to 5-5-1 and 0-3 in Big Ten play, while the Boilermakers move to 11-1-1 and 3-0.

Michigan State gave an inspired effort in the first half, holding the Big Ten's top team scoreless. The Spartans played some of their most intense soccer, but Purdue still controlled play and held a 12-2 advantage in shots after 45 minutes.

"We executed our game plan exactly the way we wanted to," head coach Tom Saxton said. "I'm proud of our players."

Purdue's Felicia Schroeder broke the tie at the 55:00 mark when she sent a shot from the right corner into the upper left corner of the net. Parrissa Eyorokon added an insurance goal in the 59th minute, taking a pass from Shauna Stapleton at the top of the box and burying a shot into the back of the net.

"Purdue is a very dangerous team, the best we've seen so far this season," Saxton said. "We have some injuries on our defense, and we physically broke down in the second half. If we don't have a breakdown there, maybe our game plan continues to work."

The Boilermakers finished the contest with large advantages in shots (19-4) and corner kicks (9-2). Jessica Okoroafo had a match-high five shots for Purdue.

Freshman Cara Freeman had two shots for MSU, including a header that sailed just over the crossbar for the Spartans' best chance of the match. Senior Mauren Pawlak and junior Kristi Timar each had one shot for Michigan State.

MSU hosts Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 7 at noon at Old College Field. The match will be televised on Comcast Local.