Buffs Suffer Another 1-0 Loss, This Time On The Road

Friday, September 2

West Lafayette, Ind.

5:00 p.m.

Colorado

2-2-0

Purdue

2-3-0

Colorado

Purdue

Photo by: Joel Broida

September 02, 2011 | Soccer

Box Score

By: Taylor Temby, Graduate Assistant SID

WEST LAFAYETTE, IND. - Colorado dropped its second straight 1-0 loss after falling to Purdue in the first game of the Illini/Boilermaker Cup.

CU was hoping to return the favor after losing to Purdue in last year's Omni Hotels Colorado Classic, 3-1. While the Buffs held the Boilermakers to fewer goals than the 2010 game, it wasn't enough to claim victory.

Purdue was coming off a three-game losing streak, but opened the game with a great scoring chance. The Boilermakers tested Colorado's defense early, when they put a header on goal after a corner kick, but CU's defense cleared it for a team save.

Colorado responded and was able to flip the momentum midway through the first half. The Buffs didn't get their first shot on goal until 23 minutes in. Kate Russell blasted a shot from 30 yards out and though it didn't go in, it changed the ball possession to CU's favor.

CU had a big scoring opportunity 32 minutes in when sophomore sparkplug Hayley Hughes shot a ball wide from just outside the box. Colorado outshot Purdue 6-2 and won the majority of the 50-50 balls to close out the first 45 minutes of play.

"I think we just really had the confidence that we needed. We were going at them like we should've," Hughes said.

"We were the better team," CU head coach Bill Hempen added. "[Purdue] was on ropes at the end of the first half. We were on them, and on them, and we had our chances."

When CU took the pitch to start the second half, it looked as though the team was going to dominate again. The Buffs had five shots in the opening 13 minutes with Hughes leading the way. She would finish the night with seven.

"I felt like we had control of the game again," Hempen said.

Purdue didn't give up, and the Boilermakers caught a break with 27 minutes remaining in the second half. Hempen said Purdue intercepted a pass by the Buffs and counter-attacked hard. Freshman Chinyelu Asher took the ball down the sidelines, got it by CU's defense and sent it over to freshman Alex Hairston who was able to bury the ball past CU keeper, Annie Brunner.

"We had several tackles that were 50-50 tackles that ended up bouncing [Purdue's] way, and they finally got in behind us and hit a near-post goal," he said.

The goal was Hairston's second of the season, and she entered the game leading her team in points (now 2g, 1a). It was also Purdue's first home goal of the 2011 campaign.

Following her goal, Hairston continued to play aggressive soccer and caused problems for Colorado. Brunner was forced to stop her from scoring again with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.

Had Brunner not made the save, Hempen thought Colorado's chances of coming back from a two-nil deficit would've been very difficult.

"She kept us in the game," he said.

Colorado stayed relentless and did all it could to find the back of the net. Hughes played a great ball to senior midfielder Kate Russell, who hit the crossbar on a diving header with six minutes left.

"I think we regained the game yet again," Hempen said. "I really think if we would have scored that goal, we would've won the game."

Colorado must now refocus and prepare for Sunday's game. The Buffs will head to Urbana-Champaign, Ill., to take on a strong Illinois team. The No. 17-ranked Fighting Illini are now 4-1, after suffering their first loss on Friday. USC defeated Illinois, 3-1.

"We just need to get our mentality right, because we've now lost to two teams we shouldn't have. If we are the better team, we have to put it up on the scoreboard, and we haven't been doing that," Hughes said.