Lincoln, Neb. – Behind finishes from Eleanor Dale and Sadie Waite, the Nebraska soccer team defeated Purdue 2-0 on Thursday night in front of 1,211 fans at Hibner Stadium.
The victory marked the Huskers fifth-straight conference win as they are currently tied for second in the conference standings. Additionally, tonight’s game moved NU to 12-2-3 on the season and the Big Red’s six conference victories is the most since 2013, when the team won both the regular season title and the conference championship.
In the 13th minute, Dale scored her nation-leading 22nd goal of the season off assists from Gwen Lane and Sadie Waite. Waite sent a cross to Lane who passed the ball down the pitch to Dale who gathered and scored into the top right corner of the net.
The Huskers held the Boilermakers scoreless in the first half, while also leading in shots (9-6), shots on goal (7-1) and corners (5-1). Sami Hauk recorded one save in the goal, while Purdue’s Charlotte Cyr tallied six saves in the first 45 minutes.
In the second half, NU extended its lead and completed its sixth shutout of the season as the Huskers held Purdue to just two shots on goal. In the 81st minute, sophomore Waite netted her second finish of the year from Florence Belzile’s conference-leading 12th assist on the season. Overall, the Huskers had the advantage in shots (19-12), shots on goal (10-3) and corners (7-6). Seven Huskers recorded shots, led by Dale (9), as Haley Peterson, Abbey Schwarz, Belzile and Jordan Zade all recorded two, and Ella Guyott and Waite tallied a shot apiece.In the goal, Hauk played the entire game, earned her third-straight shutout and recorded three saves. Hauk was joined by Anglim, Dale, Peterson and Nicola Hauk who also played 90 minutes.With the loss, Purdue falls to 3-12-2 on the season and 0-7-2 in conference play.Up next, the Huskers close out the regular season on Sunday, Oct. 11 at Illinois. Action is set for 7:05 p.m. (CT) and will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
