University of Louisville
Purdue
Cards Capture Boilermaker Challenge Cup Sunday
September 02, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2007
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Senior Monique Gjini's set-piece blast to the top right corner propelled the University of Louisville to a 1-0 victory over 15th-ranked Purdue Sunday, and with its second victory of the weekend, the Cards captured the Boilermaker Challenge Cup Championship.
Five Cardinal players were named to the All-Tournament Team, as senior goalkeeper Joanna Haig, junior defender Jessica Mello, sophomore midfielder Lindsay Boling and freshmen forward Kelsey Hunyadi were joined by Gjini, who was named the Tournament's Offensive MVP.
The win improves the Cardinals' record to 2-0-0 on the season and snapped an 11-game home unbeaten streak for the Boilermakers (0-1-1).
Coming off of a tie with Louisville rival Kentucky on Friday, Purdue looked to set the tempo early with its dynamic attacking play. Unfazed, the Cardinal defensive unit of Mello, Erica Robinson, Katie Owen, and Meredith Tolley stymied the Purdue attackers with a mix of good defensive positioning and well-timed challenges.
When the Boilermakers were able to penetrate the back line goalkeeper Haig proved she was up for the challenge, dealing with the pressure and making composed saves when called upon. The Cardinals looked to catch Purdue on the counterattack, but the Purdue defense dealt with the pressure as well, holding the Cardinals mainly to long-range efforts. The half ended a stalemate, with each team keeping the other off the score sheet.
The second half looked as though it would be much of the same, and with just ten minutes left, the match appeared destined for extra time. But in the 81st minute Tolley stepped in front of a Purdue attacker to win the ball near midfield, laid the ball off to midfielder Mallory Lampson who sent a curling ball in behind the right side of the Purdue defense to freshman forward Emily Prokopik.
Running full speed, just as Prokopik approached the ball she was pushed from behind by a Purdue defender on the edge of the 18 yard box, leaving the referee with no choice but to award the Cardinals with a free kick. On the ensuing set piece, Gjini stepped up and unleashed a cannon of a shot, leaving the Boilermaker goalkeeper no chance to make the save.
Down a goal with eight minutes left in the match Purdue continued to press, and they nearly got the equalizer with just four minutes left. A Boilermaker attacker beat the Louisville defense on the left side of the 18 yard box and crossed the ball to Jessica Okoroafo streaking through, but her header careened off of the crossbar and out for a goal kick. The Cardinals held on the final minutes for a well-fought victory and the Boilermaker Challenge Cup Championship.
"Purdue is an extremely dynamic attacking team and I was very impressed with our defensive organization and ability to win the 1v1 battles. They certainly created a ton of good attacking chances but our back line, specifically Jessica Mello, was absolutely fantastic today. I am pleased with where we are at this early in the season and we hope to continue to build off of the success of the weekend," said Head Coach Karen Ferguson.
"It is great to come up with two wins on our first road trip. We battled hard throughout today's game and never game up when things got tough. We were able to put together a total team effort, and this is a great step toward the rest of the season," noted Gjini.
The Cardinals return to action Wednesday as they visit the Ohio University Bobcats, then they are back to Cardinal Park for the regular season home opener against the Butler Bulldogs at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Boilermaker Challenge Cup Champion: Louisville Cardinals
Offensive MVP: Monique Gjini, Louisville
Defensive MVP: Laura Baker, Kentucky
All Tournament Team:
Joanna Haig, Jessica Mello, Monique Gjini, Lindsay Boling, Kelsey Hunyadi (Louisville)
Laura Novikoff, Laura Baker, Sarah Gaunt (Kentucky)
Christy Riggle, Kalie Grambeau (Purdue)
Alexia Murray (Loyola-Chicago)
