Oct. 21, 2007

Box Score

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The Illinois soccer team fell to the No. 5 Purdue Boilermakers, 2-1, on Sunday in front of 1138 fans at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Junior forward Jessica Levitt tallied her second goal of the season with five seconds left in the game, as the Illini fall to 9-5-1 (4-3-1 Big Ten).

The match was a defensive struggle throughout the first half. The Orange and Blue narrowly missed a scoring opportunity in the 17th minute when senior defender Kristy Weeks crossed to freshman midfielder Cory Steigerwald from the right flank. Steigerwald headed a shot from the top of the six, but the ball sailed wide of the net to keep the teams knotted at zero.

Purdue (14-1-2, 6-0-1) broke the 0-0 tie at 64:39 after an Illinois foul inside the box gave the Boilermakers a penalty kick opportunity. Senior midfielder Shauna Stapleton drilled the PK into the corner of the net to put Purdue on top, 1-0.

Just two minutes later, the Boilermakers added their second goal of the game on a throw-in to sophomore forward Loredana Riverso. Riverso played the ball between the Illini defenders into the box to senior forward Parrissa Eyorokon, drawing Illinois goalkeeper Lindsey Carstens from between the posts. Eyrokon picked up the pass and fired a shot from the right post into the goal to give Purdue a 2-0 advantage.

Illinois battled back in the closing seconds when freshman defender Danielle Kot sent a free kick inside the six. After a Purdue defender headed the ball into the air, Levitt turned as the ball hit the ground and buried a shot to make it 2-1 as time expired.

Overall, the Orange and Blue owned a 22-11 shot advantage and out-cornered the Boilermakers, 8-2. The loss snaps the Illini's five-game shutout streak.

Illinois wraps up the regular season next weekend, hitting the road to take on Michigan and Michigan State. The Illini will face the Wolverines on Friday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. before capping off the season against the Spartans on Sunday, Oct. 28 at 11 a.m.