Boilermakers Win in Overtime at Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (www.purduesports.com) – Hannah Leinert and Makaela Nellams each scored a goal and assisted on another, Nellams scoring on a penalty kick in double overtime to propel Purdue women’s soccer to a 2-1 victory at Maryland on Sunday afternoon.
Leinert scored an equalizer in the 59th minute and was taken down inside the penalty area at the top of the 108th minute to create the penalty-kick opportunity. Nellams converted on her second PK of the season in as many tries for her fourth career goal and second at Maryland (5-10-1, 0-7-1 B1G) in as many years.
“Our players showed a lot of grit today,” Purdue head coach Drew Roff said. “After a very challenging week of games, we continued to battle and found a way to win. Our center back tandem of Dannah Williams and Kim Love came up big when needed defensively, and Jordan Ginther made a couple of huge saves. Hannah Leinert was dangerous in the attack all game and Makaela Nellams contributed to both goals. She stepped up to hit the PK with confidence and hit a great shot to win it.”
The Boilermakers (8-7-1, 3-5-1 B1G) got the win they needed, their first on the road in conference play this season, to keep pace in the Big Ten Tournament chase. Illinois (12 points) returned to eighth place (final tournament berth) Sunday with its win vs. Nebraska. Purdue (10 points) has games left against Michigan (Oct. 24 in Ann Arbor) and Indiana (Oct. 27 in Bloomington) as well as a potential tiebreaker with the Fighting Illini. Rutgers and Ohio State are tied for sixth with 14 points and Michigan State (11 points) is in ninth place with a game in hand on the field.
After the Terrapins had a golden goal waved off by an offside call in the 104th minute, Purdue was able to get the game winner it needed to earn the full three standings points. Andrea Petrina brought the ball up through the midfield of the field, reaching the top of the 18-yard box before opting to connect a short right-to-left pass to Leinert. The junior was able to make a nifty move past the defender that broke on the play, and Leinert was tripped up as she surged forward. The referee awarded the penalty kick to the Boilermakers.
Nellams also scored on a penalty kick in loss at No. 18 Minnesota last month. She fired a shot inside the right post past UMD goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands, who played a strong game and finished with nine saves. Nellams joined Erika Arkans as active Boilermakers to score an overtime winner, Arkans doing so in the extended victory in September 2014 at Northwestern. Purdue has won an overtime game on the road each of the last four years, three of those victories coming in Big Ten play.
Maddy Williams and Nellams set up Leinert’s equalizer, which was her team-leading seventh goal of the season and the 34th of her collegiate career. Nellams connected a right-to-left pass to Leinert near the top of the 18-yard box. Leinert used a back-heel flick to spin into open space, slotting a sliding shot passed the charging Beanlands to tie the game.
Ginther made the best of her three saves in the 78th minute when she dove to her left to deflect a shot by UMD’s top goal scorer Alex Anthony wide of the right post. Ginther made another sprawling save in the 87th minute to keep the game tied.
Anthony scored the game’s first goal, her Big Ten-leading 10th of the season, in the 50th minute with a right-footed shot from about 23 yards out.
The offside call in the in the 104th minute wiped out a goal by Gabby Galanti. Ginther initially made a save diving to her left on a shot by Cassie Phillips, the rebound caroming to Galanti. But the flag was up during the sequence and a shot to Phillips and save by Ginther were not credited as well.
The Boilermakers matched their season high with 11 shots on goal, five coming in the final 20 minutes of the second half. Leinert accounted for five of the 11 shots on goal after missing Thursday’s loss to No. 9 Penn State due to injury. Coincidentally, Purdue had a 19-14 edge in the shot count but 9-1 deficit in corner kicks.
Melissa Casella, Vanessa Korolas, Dannah Williams, Arkans, Love and Nellams went the distance among the Boilermakers’ field players. Maddy Williams and Leinert also logged over 100 minutes. Mikayla Lasky played 81 minutes to lead the reserves. She was the first Purdue player off the bench and played all of the second half and overtime.
The Boilermakers were victorious after conceding the game’s first goal for the first time this season. It marked the first time Purdue won a game on the road after going down 1-0 since September 2014 at Marshall.
Saturday’s game at Michigan is set for 7 p.m.
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