Boilermakers Edged by No. 24 UCF in Front of Record Crowd
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Purdue soccer team opened the 2023 season with a 1-0 loss to No. 24 UCF in front of a record crowd at Folk Field on Thursday night in West Lafayette, Indiana.
As 4,096 fans packed Folk Field, the program attendance record was broken for the third year in a row at the annual Boiler Gold Rush season-opening kickoff game. The 2023 record topped last year’s mark of 3,296, which bested 2021’s then-record of 2,125 fans that encircled Purdue’s home pitch. Prior to 2021, the Purdue attendance record was 1,712, set in 2016, a number that now ranks No. 4 all-time.
In an evenly played contest with numerous good scoring opportunities for both teams, the Boilermakers (0-1-0) played right with the 24th-ranked Knights (1-0-0). Purdue had several chances to tie the game late, but a goal by the visitors in the 49th minute proved to be the difference.
Opening the year against a top-25 opponent under the lights at Folk Field for the second consecutive year, the Boilermakers had 14 shots, four on target. The Knights, coming off an NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance and regular-season conference title, recorded 16 shots, six on goal. Both teams earned five corner kicks and UCF had 11 fouls, with two yellow cards, while Purdue had eight fouls.
Senior midfielder Emily Mathews logged a team-best four shots and freshman midfielder Lauren Omholt had three shots and a team-high two shots on goal as she made her collegiate debut. Sophomore forward Kayla Budish also posted three shots. In her first game as a Boilermaker senior Charlotte Cyr made five saves, while her UCF counterpart stopped four shots.
With the result, the Boilermakers are 8-5-2 in opening-weekend games in head coach Drew Roff’s nine-year tenure. Thursday night is just Purdue’s second season-opening defeat under Roff, as his side now is 6-2-1 in such games and 7-1-1 in home-openers.
Cyr made the game’s first save in the third minute, and Omholt had her first shot, which was saved, in the 10th. Three more off-target chances for the Knights followed before Cyr made a nice stop in the 17th minute. A diving save in the 26th gave Cyr her third of the night.
Purdue had several good opportunities to finish the half, which began with two chances for Mathews, the first wide and the second blocked. Budish then sent a shot wide in the 36th minute that followed Purdue’s first corner. After a free kick two minutes later, senior midfielder Zoie Allen sent a shot in that was blocked.
UCF had nine shots to Purdue’s five in the first half, though Cyr’s three saves kept the game goalless. The visitors held a 3-1 edge in corner kicks.
Cyr made a nice save less than a minute into the second half before the Knights claimed the game’s only goal. At 48:09, Dayana Martin scored from Chloe Netzel.
The visitors had the next three shots, one blocked, one wide and another a great save by Cyr, before Purdue answered with nine of the final 11 chances in the game.
The first was a shot wide by Omholt in the 61st minute, and two more shots wide followed within three minutes. Great chances by Budish, then Mathews, nearly leveled the game. Junior midfielder Sydney Boudreau then had a nice shot of her own that was saved in the 71st, and, after three earned throw-ins, Mathews had an opportunity blocked.
A corner kick set up a great chance for Budish, but it was just wide in the 83rd minute. The Boilermakers closed the second half with shots that were saved by junior forward Gracie Dunaway in the 88th minute and by Omholt in the final seconds.
Purdue out-shot UCF 9-7 in the final 45 minutes, though both clubs had three shots on goal. The home side had a 4-2 advantage in corner kicks in the second half.
Up next, Purdue’s opening weekend concludes against Iona on Sunday, August 20. Kickoff at Folk Field is at noon ET, and admission is free for all fans.