Boilers use spring invitational to gauge soccer team's talent

By Greg Doddridge
Staff Writer

The southwesterly wind, blowing at up to 30 miles per hour, had a disruptive effect on the ball during Saturday's Purdue Invitational at the Varsity Soccer Complex.

Purdue (6-3-1 in Spring Exhibitions) lost to Marquette 1-0 in the first game and defeated Miami (Ohio) 7-0 in the third game.

When a player would kick the ball, heading from north to south across the field, it would go up nicely, hit its apex and drop down very quickly.

"The wind was horrible," said freshman forward Annette Kent. "It felt like you had weights on your back. I've never played in conditions like that."

Purdue coach Rob Klatte said the wind tends to be worse in the spring than in the fall. But, he said, "We are trying to block the wind with trees."

That is because the soccer complex sits on an open location, allowing the wind to easily blow across the field. Sophomore midfielder Jessica Baumhoff said the wind was a huge factor against Miami (Ohio). She said the Redhawks could not get the ball out and that helped the Boilermakers on the attack.

With the wind at their backs, the Boilermakers scored all five of their second half goals against the Redhawks in the last 35 minutes of the game.

"The game always gets fun when you are up by so much," said Kent, who scored the last Boilermaker goal in the Miami (Ohio) game.

Junior Katie Redmond, in goal after junior goalkeeper Liz Boldt got hurt in the Marquette game, saved all three of the Redhawks' shots on goal in the Boilers' shutout win. Purdue managed 15 shots on goal including 11 in the second half. Klatte said the Redhawks were getting tired. Purdue has 22 players on its roster this spring and he said that depth is what helped.

"We made some good plays," said Baumhoff, who scored the first goal for Purdue against the Redhawks. "We wanted to bounce back and play hard after the first game."

Against Marquette, the Boilers had three shots on goal in the first game but the Golden Eagles' goal with 17:30 to go in the game, when they were moving with the wind, sealed the 1-0 shutout.

"We were disappointed to give up the goal in the first game," said Klatte. "I thought it was a very good soccer game. It could have easily been a 1-1 tie."

Freshman forward Courtney Coppedge had a 1-on-1 opportunity with 7:10 to go and sophomore forward Chrissy Creamer took the Boilers' last shot on goal with 6:05 remaining, but Marquette successfully defended both those challenges.

Even though the spring exhibitions don’t count in the official standings, they serve a useful purpose.

"The spring games give us a chance to evaluate the talent that we have," said Klatte.

He said the exhibitions give the current 22 players confidence before heading into the fall, when they will join with the eight incoming freshmen.

"We have been playing well," said Kent. "I have seen people set up and play 10 times as well as they have played in the fall."

And the level of competition in the spring is nothing to shy away from. Both Marquette and Miami (Ohio) won their respective conference titles last year and both made it to the NCAA tournament, a goal of the Boilers for the upcoming season.

"The competition is really intense," said Baumhoff. "We want to build up our skills so that we can contend during the Big Ten season."

Defense dominates scrimmage

Boilers use spring invitational to gauge soccer team's talent

Team remains winless in Big Ten

Boilers extend winning streak

Team performs well, fails to win

Softball team loses three of four

Track team sets record for split medley relay

Team earns seventh place after second day of tournament

Tennis team falls on road

SPORTS DESK PHONE:
(765) 743-1111 ext. 251

Sports editor:
Paul Trembacki

Assistant sports editor:
Anne McLaren

To send a letter to the editor, please email opinions@purdueexponent.org