WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – K-State had a chance to collect its fourth win away from Manhattan on Thursday night, but the right goalpost had other ideas as Purdue defended Folk Field with a 2-0 win on Thursday night.
The Wildcats ended its five-match road trip with a 3-2-0 record.
“I thought it was a good match for us to see where we're at against a very good opponent,” said K-State head coach Mike Dibbini about Thursday’s result. “I felt like this game was about defense and momentum. We had a chance to take the lead. We didn't. We gifted them a goal moments later and then had a chance to equalize it in the second half. We didn't. A decent match, but we can take away a lot from this match as we go forward.”
K-State (4-3-0) had the first chance to go in front on Thursday evening. Marisa Weichel played a pass ahead to Kyler Goins in the 23rd minute. Goins beat a Purdue defender with only the goalie remaining.
Goins rolled her right-footed shot under the goalkeeper’s hand but the ball hit the right post and rolled along the goal line. The Boilermakers raced to the ball and secured possession before Goins could tap it in.
Purdue (4-1-2) was able to capitalize on a K-State turnover in the 26th minute. The Wildcats played a free kick from near midfield, rolling a pass towards the right side of the field. The ball was intercepted by Emily Mathews. She raced up field with possession and K-State defenders in pursuit, but her shot from 10 yards found the netting for the 1-0 Purdue lead.
The Wildcats strung together three solid chances in the second half. Brookelynn Entz recorded two of those opportunities. In the 70th minute, Entz stole the ball from the Boilermakers and drove toward the left post with just the goalkeeper to beat. Her left-footed boot just missed the upper left corner. In the 81st minute, Entz fired an attempt from just outside the 18-yard box, but Purdue’s goalkeeper Marisa Bova made the save.
In the 83rd minute, Purdue added its insurance. Aly Mielke played a ball to Gracie Dunaway from around 35 yards out. Dunaway fired a low-liner toward the K-State net, which ducked under Alaina Werremeyer’s outstretched hand and into the lower left corner of the net.
For the second straight match, Werremeyer collected six saves. She owns six career matches with five or more saves.
Despite the result on Thursday, Dibbini was pleased with how his team played during the road trip and is looking forward to Sunday’s home match.
“I think we did a nice job on the road, getting three results out of five. It's always tough to play on the road against good teams. It doesn't get any easier on Sunday with a tough Indiana team so we're going to have to figure out a way to rebound and respond in front of our fans.”
K-State returns to Buser Family Park on Sunday night to host Indiana at 7 p.m. Tickets for Sunday’s match can be purchased by contacting the K-State Athletics Ticket Office at (800) 221-CATS, visiting kstatesports.com/tickets or at the Buser Family Park ticket booth.
Sunday’s match will be available on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, as Brian Smoller (play-by-play) and Oscar Montenegro (analyst) will have the call.
– kstatesports.com –