March 29, 2008
Sophomore forward Cydne Currie scored a goal in each half to the lead the Texas A&M soccer team to a 2-1 victory over the defending Big 10 Tournament champion Purdue Boilermakers Saturday night at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
?I am very proud our ladies?â„¢ effort tonight,? A&M head coach G Guerrieri said. ?I thought our play in the midfield was excellent; we were able to create quite a few scoring opportunities from there. I felt like our team has continued to improve throughout this spring season. Purdue is a very talented side that is consistently ranked nationally and they came out and competed very well today.?
A&M came out strong to start the game, controlling the pace of the match and keeping play in its attacking third for a majority of the first half.
Currie got the Aggies on the scoreboard in the game?â„¢s 26th minute when she broke open roughly 30 yards out. The sophomore fired a shot out of the reach of Purdue keeper Jenny Bradfisch that skidded into the left side netting giving the Aggies the early 1-0 lead.
A&M held a 10-6 shot advantage over the Boilermakers heading into the locker room at halftime, taking seven corners to Purdue?â„¢s three.
The Boilermakers would even the score in the match?â„¢s 62nd minute. Surrounded by Aggie defenders, Purdue?â„¢s Felicia Schroeder managed to fire off a hard shot from 25 yards out passed a diving Kristin Arnold to bring the score to one-all.
With just under six minutes remaining in the match, a couple of misclears by the Purdue defense left a 50/50 ball and a mix of players in the penalty area. Currie came away with it in front of an open net after Bradfisch was pulled out of goal and caught in the mix-up. Currie laced the ball into the top shelf for the game-winner and her fifth goal of spring exhibition play.
With the win, A&M improved to 5-0-2, while Purdue drops to 3-2 in spring play.
The Aggies conclude their spring exhibition season Apr. 5 against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Aggie Soccer Stadium.
?We have one more weekend of fun ahead of us as we host Oklahoma State next Saturday,? Guerrieri ended. ?Colin and Karen have done a great job of bringing world class players to Stillwater, and they play a very disciplined and organized style. So, we?â„¢ll have our work cut out for us in our final game of our spring season.?
Admission is free to the public.