WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Lexi Fraley scored the 20th goal of her collegiate career and goalkeeper Emily Edwards made a clutch save on a penalty kick, but Illinois scored twice in the final 34 minutes to rally past Purdue Soccer 2-1 Sunday at Folk Field.
The Fighting Illini (6-5-2, 2-3-1 Big Ten) scored in the 57th and 83rd minutes to become the first team to overcome a halftime deficit against the Boilermakers (6-6-1, 2-4-0 Big Ten) this season. Purdue had been 6-0-1 when scoring first and 5-0-1 when leading at halftime.
Fraley scored from the heart of the 18-yard box against a goalkeeper on her heels, burying her first goal as a Boilermaker in the 39th minute. It was set up by a beautiful lead pass from Abigail Roy played from the west sideline at the midfield stripe.
Fraley scored 19 goals in her three seasons at Ball State, including 10 in 2023. Sunday, she became the eighth Boilermaker to find the back of the net this season. The goal ended Purdue's scoring drought at home at 333 consecutive minutes dating back to the second half of the Sept. 1 win vs. Dayton.
Kennedy Berschel scored the equalizer in the 57th minute and Lia Howard put her team in front with a goal in the 83rd minute. The Purdue coaching staff believed both sequences featured an Illini player offsides. The first goal went to video review but was not overturned. The referee chose not to review the go-ahead marker.
In the sixth minute, Illinois goalkeeper Izzy Lee made the first big play of the game – a sprawling save vs. Chiara Singarella after the Argentine stole the ball from the center back
Purdue had two excellent scoring opportunities on point blank scrambles after the ball hit the crossbar. In the 14th minute, it was Lauren Adam's service from the left flank that forced Lee to deflect the ball off the bar. Zoe Cuneio crashed the play at the goal line, but the Illini kept the ball out of the net. With the game tied in the 77th minute, Gabriela Angulo fired a shot off the crossbar from 30 yards out over the top of a leaping Lee. Gracie Dunaway got the first touch on the rebound in the heart of the 18-yard box, but Lee recovered in time to make a sliding deflection before Dunaway could get a shot off.
Edwards best save during the run of play came in the 19th minute, diving to her right to get a hand on an unmarked blast off the foot of Ella Karolak from 15 yards out. Edwards finished the day with three saves.
Sydney Boudreau, Cloey Uddenberg, Adam, Anguelo, Cuneio and Singarella went the distance among the Purdue field players. Lauren Meeks logged 62 minutes to lead the reserves. Angulo made her first start Sunday.
The Boilermakers are back in action Thursday for the annual Golden Boot rivalry game with Indiana. Kickoff in Bloomington is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
The Fighting Illini (6-5-2, 2-3-1 Big Ten) scored in the 57th and 83rd minutes to become the first team to overcome a halftime deficit against the Boilermakers (6-6-1, 2-4-0 Big Ten) this season. Purdue had been 6-0-1 when scoring first and 5-0-1 when leading at halftime.
Fraley scored from the heart of the 18-yard box against a goalkeeper on her heels, burying her first goal as a Boilermaker in the 39th minute. It was set up by a beautiful lead pass from Abigail Roy played from the west sideline at the midfield stripe.
Fraley scored 19 goals in her three seasons at Ball State, including 10 in 2023. Sunday, she became the eighth Boilermaker to find the back of the net this season. The goal ended Purdue's scoring drought at home at 333 consecutive minutes dating back to the second half of the Sept. 1 win vs. Dayton.
Edwards made her penalty kick save diving to her right mano a mano vs. Emma Yee in the 49th minute. The clutch play kept Purdue in front 1-0 at the time.2nd look at the Great Goal from @LexiFraley1 🔥
— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 6, 2024
1st as a #Boilermaker & the 20th of her college career. #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/oVkNZidoH9
Kennedy Berschel scored the equalizer in the 57th minute and Lia Howard put her team in front with a goal in the 83rd minute. The Purdue coaching staff believed both sequences featured an Illini player offsides. The first goal went to video review but was not overturned. The referee chose not to review the go-ahead marker.
In the sixth minute, Illinois goalkeeper Izzy Lee made the first big play of the game – a sprawling save vs. Chiara Singarella after the Argentine stole the ball from the center back
Purdue had two excellent scoring opportunities on point blank scrambles after the ball hit the crossbar. In the 14th minute, it was Lauren Adam's service from the left flank that forced Lee to deflect the ball off the bar. Zoe Cuneio crashed the play at the goal line, but the Illini kept the ball out of the net. With the game tied in the 77th minute, Gabriela Angulo fired a shot off the crossbar from 30 yards out over the top of a leaping Lee. Gracie Dunaway got the first touch on the rebound in the heart of the 18-yard box, but Lee recovered in time to make a sliding deflection before Dunaway could get a shot off.
Edwards best save during the run of play came in the 19th minute, diving to her right to get a hand on an unmarked blast off the foot of Ella Karolak from 15 yards out. Edwards finished the day with three saves.
Sydney Boudreau, Cloey Uddenberg, Adam, Anguelo, Cuneio and Singarella went the distance among the Purdue field players. Lauren Meeks logged 62 minutes to lead the reserves. Angulo made her first start Sunday.
The Boilermakers are back in action Thursday for the annual Golden Boot rivalry game with Indiana. Kickoff in Bloomington is slated for 7 p.m. ET.
49' - Emily Edwards!! You Shall Not Pass!! PK Denied!! 🚫⚽️#Purdue keeps its 1-0 lead on Illinois
— Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 6, 2024
Live Stats: https://t.co/eSomIRzs4Y pic.twitter.com/uS8JS9MPrQ