Women’s Soccer takes on rival Hoosiers
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 11/03/2009
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Two top-25 ranked in-state rivals are meeting today, 48 hours after both of the teams’ worst losses of their respective seasons.
The No. 22 Purdue women’s soccer team, which lost to Penn State, 4-0, on Sunday, is traveling to Bloomington, Ind., to take on the No. 23 Hoosiers, who dropped a 6-0 decision to Ohio State on the same day. Both losses were season lows.
Purdue head coach Robert Klatte said that defensive pressure and communication were what the Boilers needed to work on after the Penn State match. With only one day between Sunday’s match and tonight’s match, he only had one hour of practice to work with his team.
“We’ve got to be a team committed to hunting the ball in groups and as a unit and coordinating communication,” Klatte said. “That’s what we’ll really spend the hour of time on.”
Tonight’s meeting is a makeup match. Originally, the two teams were scheduled to face off on Oct. 8, but heavy rain forced it to be postponed.
Because of the postponement, the Boilers are unable to partake in their yearly tradition of burning an Indiana soccer jersey in a bonfire the night before the match. The team had already conducted the ceremony on Oct. 7 and junior defender Liz Secue said she wishes they could do another.
“I wish (we could conduct another bonfire),” Secue said. “That would be a lot of fun, but we only do it once a year.”
The Boilers have other worries. Purdue is in fifth place in the Big Ten standings with 11 points, and Ohio State is in first with 22 points. That puts the Boilers out of Big Ten title contention with only two matches left.
The final two matches are still important, however. Last season, the Boilers finished third in the Big Ten and didn’t get a bid to the NCAA tournament. Secue said that the Boilers won’t let the Penn State match bother them.
“We’ve got to put this behind us, which is possible,” Secue said. “We just have to make sure we’re ready and we should be fine.”
The match starts at 7 p.m. today in Bloomington, Ind.