WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team remained undefeated and picked up its first win of the young season with a 1-0 victory over Gonzaga on Thursday evening at Folk Field.
As the Boilermakers (1-0-2) earned their first clean sheet of the year, sophomore defender Nicole Kevdzija scored her fourth career goal. Defensively, the Bulldogs (2-1-0) were shut out for the first time after they combined to score seven goals in their opening two games.
"Keeping it a clean sheet was a huge goal for us tonight, because we knew that this is going to be one of the more dangerous attacking teams that we'll play this year," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "I think our defense did a nice job of not giving them too many good looks at goal. They certainly had some shots from the distance, but for the most part, our goalkeeper had those covered. Maya Lambert and Nicole Kevdzija did a fantastic job knowing when to step to the player, when to drop off and cover the space, and I thought they worked really well together and that was key. To get a clean sheet against a team like that was really an outstanding effort by our team, because that's a team that is going to score a lot of goals this season and I think that's a team that's going to get a lot of wins as well."
Purdue was out-shot 14-10, while Gonzaga had a 7-6 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams committed 11 fouls and the visitors held a 6-4 edge in corner kicks.
Senior midfielder Sydney Duarte had a team-high four shots, one on goal, while senior forward Sarah Griffith had two shots and one shot on goal. Senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made a season-best seven saves to earn her first shutout of the year and 14th of her career, which is tied for third-most in school history.
Kevdzija's game-winning goal came at 68:57. Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews sent the ball into the box on a corner kick, where Gonzaga's goalkeeper made the first contact at the edge of the six-yard box. As she attempted to punch the ball out, it instead was deflected back towards the goal to Kevdzija. With as many as five defenders on the goal line, Kevdzija took a shot on net from five yards away, and the ball deflected off several Bulldogs and into the back of the net.
The goal is Kevdzija's fourth of her career and first of the season. It is her third game-winning goal in 15 career matches.
The Boilermakers take a 1-0 lead! At 68:57, it's Nicole Kevdzija's 1st goal of the season and 4th of her career.#BoilerUp 🚂⚽️ pic.twitter.com/fl9JNwIvyC
— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) August 27, 2021
In the opening 45 minutes, Gonzaga had an 8-5 advantage in shots and a 3-2 edge in shots on goal.
Griffith had an early chance for the Boilermakers, just 40 seconds into the match, but it was saved. The Bulldogs' first shot came in the 10th minute and was blocked, and Duarte also had a shot blocked five minutes later.
The visitors had a shot that went high in the 17th minute and another on goal a minute later, but Bova made the easy save.
Duarte and Griffith added a pair of blocked shots in the 24th minute, with Griffith's setting up a corner kick. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Hannah Lapeire registered a shot that was saved in the 32nd.
Gonzaga had four shots in the final eight minutes, but the Boilermaker defense blocked two and Bova saved the other pair. Kevdzija registered one of the blocks, with a nice play off a ball from the far sideline into the near corner of the 18.
After intermission, the Bulldogs held a 6-5 edge in shots, while both teams recorded four shots on goal.
Bova made two nice saves early, the first in the 54th minute and the next in the 57th, which was the third shot for Gonzaga to begin the half.
Following an opportunity by senior midfielder Grace Walsh in the 59th minute, Purdue had a chance in the 64th minute on a free ball into the six by junior defender Lauren Holleran. Amidst a scrum of players from both teams, the Bulldogs were able to clear it. A minute later, senior midfielder Ally Mussallem had a breakaway, but couldn't get a shot off before the keeper got to the ball. Purdue had another chance shortly thereafter but couldn't get a shot off.
Purdue continued to apply pressure until earning a corner kick at 68:31, which set up the eventual game-winning goal.
Following the score, Bova made a nice save less than a minute later, and she made another stop in the 79th minute. That proved to be Gonzaga's final shot of the match, as the Boilermakers had three more chances, two that were saved, in the closing eight minutes.
Up next, Purdue is back home against Ball State on Sunday, August 29, at 1 p.m. Admission is free at Folk Field for all Purdue Soccer regular-season home games in 2021.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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