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Seniors Lead Illini to 1-0 Victory Over Purdue
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Senior defender Emily Zurrer tallied the game-winner against Purdue, her fourth goal of the season.
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Oct. 31, 2008
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - The seniors shined in their final home game, leading Illinois to a 1-0 victory over the Purdue Boilermakers on Friday evening at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium. Senior defender Emily Zurrer tallied the game-winning goal in the 27th minute on an assist from senior midfielder Marti Desjarlais.
With the win, the Illini clinch the No. 5 seed for the Big Ten Tournament, beginning Thursday, Nov. 6 in Iowa City, Iowa. Illinois will face No. 4 seed Michigan State in the opening round.
"All year long we've said if we can get a consistent, quality service we have a chance to score," head coach Janet Rayfield said. "(Emily) is so good in the air. She had two or three that were threatening, then hit one where she really got her timing down and drove the ball past their defense."
Both teams came out aggressively in the first half, getting solid opportunities within the first 10 minutes of the match. The Illini made the most of an opportunity in the 27th minute after Zurrer drove the ball to the end line and bounced it off a Boilermaker to give Illinois a corner kick. Desjarlais sailed a perfect ball to the head of Zurrer, who punched home for her fourth goal and third game-winner of the season.
"(Emily) played so well tonight on both sides of the ball and created some of the corner kicks we got with her runs out of the back," Rayfield said. "We talked about how our outside backs needed to force their frontrunners to defend and get forward and Emily did a great job of that."
The Illini defense shut down the Boilermakers in the second half, collecting their seventh shutout of the season thanks to goalkeeper Alexandra Kapicka's five saves. The shutout marks the 14th in the last 16 games at home, as Illinois is now unbeaten in 15 of its last 16 on the home turf.
