No. 15 Purdue Nips Oregon, 3-2

The Boilermakers scored twice in 97 seconds after halftime.

Tara Erickson's team showed improvement in Friday's 3-2 loss at Purdue. Photo courtesy: goducks.com

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Oregon scored more against No. 15 Purdue than anybody else had this season, but the Boilermakers made a pair of early second half goals stand up to defeat the Ducks 3-2 on Friday.

"I’m unhappy with the loss, but I’m pleased with the effort," said Oregon coach Tara Erickson. "We played one of our best attacking games today and we were more aggressive today."

The action started early with Oregon’s Allison Newton scoring from 15 yards out to stake the Ducks to a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.

The junior from Eugene, Ore., collected the ball after Purdue’s attempt to clear Darcie Gardner’s cross went awry and she hit an off-speed shot through traffic for her third goal of the season and ninth of her career.

But :21 later, Christie Riggle tied the game during Purdue’s attack on the ensuing kickoff.

Neither team scored the remainder of the first half.

The Boilermakers scored twice in 97 seconds shortly after halftime.

Parrissa Eyorokon scored into the left corner in the 47th minute, while Loredana Riverso found the opposite corner of the net in the 49th minute to give Purdue a 3-1 lead.

"It was disappointing to give up those goals, but when we got down 3-1, we kept playing and kept trying to score," said Erickson. "I thought we attacked more in second half. Even though we didn’t win, we got better as a team today against a good Purdue team."

Junior midfielder Jessica Goodell struck back for Oregon, scoring on a cross from Gardner in the 60th minute to cut the lead to 3-2.

It was the first goal as a Duck for Goodell, a transfer from Nebraska.

But Purdue held on from there to move to 7-1-1 on the season.

The Boilermakers had allowed just three goals on the season and not more than one in a game.

Oregon, playing without injured center defender Dylann Tharp, fell to 4-3. It was the Ducks’ first-ever soccer game against a Big Ten school.

"I think we probably missed Dylann a little bit because of the command and presence she has back there," said Erickson. But other than a couple of lapses that they took advantage of, I thought we played alright defensively."

Each team attempted 11 shots, with Oregon putting seven on goal.

The Ducks play at Illinois State on Sunday to wrap up their four-game road trip.

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