Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Soccer Nips Purdue, 2-1
9/23/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 23, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - A year ago, the Northwestern women's soccer team lost a heartbreaker at Purdue, giving up the winning goal in the final minute of regulation.
On Sunday at Lakeside Field, redemption was sweet as the Wildcats pulled a 180 on the Boilermakers.
Kas? McCoy (Medina, Ohio/Medina) was the hero, slotting home a free kick from 30 yards in front of the goal with just two seconds left in regulation. Her shot slipped through the Purdue wall and past Boiler keeper Elizabeth Boldt, touching off a wild celebration.
The win improved NU to 2-3-1 overall and 1-0-1 in the Big Ten. Purdue fell to 4-3-0, 1-1-0 in conference play.
"It felt great," said McCoy after the game. "We had that last opportunity, we did a great job getting the foul to set up the shot. It was chaotic, but my shot went in."
"Soccer can be funny that way," said head coach Jenny Haigh as she discussed the reversal of fortune from a year ago. "Sometimes you just make your own luck, and today we put ourselves in a position to make our luck."
Purdue got on the board first on a cold and damp day at Lakeside. Lauren Sesselmann was sent in alone by Courtney Coppedge on a nice through-ball, then slipped a shot past onrushing goalkeeper Susie McCreery (Glenview, Ill./Glenbard South). The goal came at 14:23.
Exactly eight minutes later, however, Northwestern drew level. Katie Hertz (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) fired a shot from long-range that skipped on the wet grass in front of Purdue goalkeeper Jocelyn Cavalier. Cavalier couldn't control the ball, and an opportunistic Kate Rawsthorne (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) crashed the goal and pushed the ball home.
It was the first career goal for Rawsthorne, a senior who walked on to the team this year and has earned herself a starting role up front.
In a fairly even match, Purdue had the best chance in the second half before McCoy's goal. With 22 minutes left, Annette Kent broke into the box and took a low-angle shot that beat McCreery. However, the ball rolled off the right post before being cleared from danger by a Wildcat defender.
"This was exciting," said Haigh. "Nothing beats winning.
"We can use this win as a building block," she continued. "We try to judge ourselves by our performance on the field, but that can only last so long if you're playing well but not getting results. Today we got both, and that's good for confidence."
Northwestern is on the road this weekend, taking on Michigan Friday afternoon and Michigan State Sunday.
Score By Half
Purdue 1 0 - 1
Northwestern 1 1 - 2
Scoring
PU - Lauren Sesselmann (Coppedge, Redmond), 14:23
NU - Kate Rawsthorne (unassisted), 22:23
NU - Kas? McCoy (unassisted), 89:58
Goalkeeper Saves
PU - Jocelyn Cavalier, 2 (45:00)
PU - Elizabeth Boldt, 1 (45:00)
NU - Susie McCreery, 5
Shots
Purdue 9, Northwestern 7
Corner Kicks
Northwestern 6, Purdue 3
Fouls
Northwestern 20, Purdue 15
Offsides
Purdue 3, Northwestern 0
Cards
PU - Courtney Coppedge (Y), 21:04
Records
Northwestern 2-3-1, 1-0-1 Big Ten
Purdue 4-3-0, 1-1-0 Big Ten
