Indiana women’s soccer traveled to West Lafayette to challenge in-state rival Purdue for the Golden Boot on Sunday afternoon. Heading into the match Sunday, Purdue led the all-time series between the teams with a record of 16-4-7 against Indiana. The Hoosiers were able to pick up the 1-0 win for the first time in the series since 2014.
The Hoosiers got off to a very quick start as in the first minute of the match, they had a throw-in opportunity in Purdue territory. The ball was thrown into the 18-yard box and a Purdue defender made a sloppy effort to clear the ball. Senior midfielder Anna Bennett was able to intercept the clearance attempt and shoot the ball into the bottom corner of the net all in one motion and gave the Hoosiers an early 1-0 lead.
Indiana has had one of the best defenses in the country this season, allowing just 8 goals in 14 games this season. Sunday’s shutout against Purdue was the ninth game this season they did not allow a goal.
As for Indiana junior goalkeeper Jamie Gerstenberg, she tallied her ninth clean sheet of the season and the 23rd of her career. She has now tied former teammate and Indiana goalkeeper Bethany Kopel for the most career clean sheets in Indiana women’s soccer history.
Gerstenberg will have the opportunity to break the program clean sheet record in Indiana history Thursday, October 12th in Bloomington against Michigan State University.
Indiana defenders Zoe Tiger, Sydney Masur, Piper Coffield and Camille Hamm played all 90 minutes for the Hoosiers. The defense only allowed two shots on target which Gerstenberg was able to save.
Indiana found itself defending a lot during the game as Purdue had seven corner kicks compared to Indiana’s two. Although Purdue had the ball on Indiana’s half frequently throughout the match, the Hoosiers’ defense remained strong and composed and did not concede a goal despite allowing 10 shots from the Boilermakers.
Indiana improved to 10-1-3 overall on the season and now sits tied for second in the conference with a record of 4-1-1, trailing only No. 4 Penn State.
The Hoosiers will be back home on Thursday, Oct. 12 to play Michigan State. The Spartans are one of the teams Indiana is tied with in the conference standings.
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m. Thursday at Bill Armstrong Stadium and the match will be broadcast live on Big Ten+.
Follow reporters Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and PJ Katona (@PJ_Katona) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
