As the Golden Boot trophy made its way to the Indiana locker room for the second year in a row, the celebration was nowhere to be found.
Indiana came into the match having lost five of its past six matches and sat in the bottom five of the conference standings. In dire need of points to climb up the table ahead of the conference tournament, the Hoosiers controlled the match, but couldn’t break through for a goal and left three massive points on the table in a 0-0 draw with Purdue.
“We were the better team,” Indiana head coach Erwin van Bennekom said. “We deserved to win.”
Benefitting from terrific defense, Indiana maintained possession the whole way and had seven open chances to put one in the back of the net. With little pushback from Purdue’s counterattack, it was the Hoosiers’ match to win.
The first half lacked aggressiveness from both sides offensively with each team only managing to put up one shot, neither of them on goal. Set pieces were almost nonexistent, with one total corner and two free kicks from playable spots. Both teams operated between the boxes, largely moving backwards and playing conservatively.
Understanding the significance of a win, the Hoosiers switched up their style during the halftime break and came into the second half looking like a completely different team.
“We wanted to get after it and win the game,” van Bennekom said. “I think that was the biggest difference.”
Indiana brought out its signature high pressure early, not allowing Purdue to push the ball across midfield for a large portion of the half. As the defense began to open up the offense, quality chances started stacking up for the Hoosiers.
Layla Sirdah delivered the first shot on goal of the match in the 48th minute. Elle Britt came back a minute later with another. Britt’s shot would trigger the first of four second-half reviews for a potential penalty shot, this time for a handball. The play was ruled clean, no penalty.
Purdue’s one true chance in the second half came in the 68th minute, earning its first corner of the match. Jamie Gerstenberg came out of her box to dive for the ball, taking out a Boilermaker on the way. Review would rule no penalty once more.
With 20 minutes to go, Indiana put out its best attacking lineup, going all-in for a much needed victory. Avery Snead would miss inches to the left of the post from close range in the 78th minute. Britt missed high over the crossbar right after. The pressure remained on for the Hoosiers and the chances kept coming.
With four minutes to go, Sirdah found herself in a one-on-one with Purdue’s keeper from point-blank range, but was unable to convert as it was punched over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner, a header from Snead missed the net by inches on the right post and trickled out of play as Indiana’s final chance.
“It’s just some things that we had falling for us last year, and now it’s not,” van Bennekom said. “This is a game we would have won last year. A similar game being the dominant team, the better team.”
With Indiana’s 1-0 win to take the Golden Boot last season, the draw keeps it in Bloomington for another year.
“The result of a 0-0 draw isn’t as exciting as a win,” Indiana centerback Piper Coffield said. “We’re happy to be able to keep the boot, but would have liked to have the win today.”
Indiana moves to 6-5-2 overall and 1-5-1 in conference play. With four matches left in the season, the Hoosiers will likely need to win out to make the conference tournament and keep their postseason hopes alive. The Wisconsin Badgers will come to Bloomington for the first of those four contests on Sunday.
