Boilermaker soccer ends season in East Lansing

After a disappointing loss to Michigan last weekend cost Purdue a chance to compete in the postseason, the Boilers returned to the Wolverine State to take on the Spartans in the season finale.

On Saturday afternoon, Purdue (7-9-2, 3-7-1 Big Ten) traveled to East Lansing to face No. 19 Michigan State (12-1-5, 7-1-3) and fell 3-1 after a pair of late goals secured the win for the Spartans.

The Boilers seemed as if they would rescue a point when a senior super-sub provided a boost for the Boilers and put them on the board. The Spartans rallied under pressure though, and scored in the 82nd minute to defend their undefeated record at home.

Here are the three takeaways from Purdue’s 3-1 loss at Michigan State:

Poor mistake costs Purdue early

Purdue found itself behind midway into the first half after a mistake just a few yards in front of its own goal.

A poor exchange between sophomore defender Zoe Cuneio, who played a slow pass back to sophomore goalkeeper Emily Edwards, was only a few yards away from her own goal and under the pressure of two Spartan attackers.

Edwards attempted to clear the ball, but it was deflected by the Spartans’ grad student forward Mackenzie Anthony towards the Boilers' own goal.

As the ball neared the goal line, sophomore defender Lauren Adam attempted to clear the ball out but was unable to get her foot around the goal and erroneously kicked the ball into her net.

The Boilers eventually made a goalkeeping change at halftime as fifth-year goalkeeper Claire Wyville came in for Edwards, who gave up two goals in the final 10 minutes of the match.

Dunaway scores in her final match

Gracie Dunaway started her final match in black and gold on the bench, coming into the game midway through the first half to provide some life to the nearly nonexistent Purdue attack.

The senior forward entered the pitch again in the 60th minute and changed the game just three minutes later when she found herself wide open 12 yards away from the goal with no defenders around her.

Dunaway took a quick touch and lofted a ball to the far side of the goal, seemingly crossing it to her teammates crashing at the back post. The ball neared the goal and went past the hands of the outstretched Michigan State goalkeeper, putting the Boilers on the board and totaling Dunaway’s fourth goal of the year.

Dunaway’s goal provided a short spurt of life into the Boilers’s offense for the first time all game, though their momentum died quickly as the Spartans’ grew back into the game and applied pressure until the Boilers broke in the 82nd minute off a corner.

Michigan State swung the ball into the box by freshman midfielder Kaleigh McPherson, who launched the ball past Wyville and put Michigan State back in front.

The Spartans doubled their lead just two minutes later off a quick counterattack, putting the game to rest and ending Purdue’s season in underwhelming fashion.

Boilers fail to work as an attacking unit

Purdue’s attack was once again strung high and wide with all three attackers sitting on or beyond the midway line, creating a 10-15 yard gap between the midfielders who were constantly tracking back on a Spartan counterattack.

The Spartans took advantage of the lack of cohesion in the middle of the pitch, running their offense through the middle portion of the pitch and picking apart the Purdue defense, creating multiple chances to score and putting constant pressure on the Purdue backline.

“We just got to hold onto the ball better,” said head coach Richard Moodie after halftime. “(We need) to just look over the football and see if we can find the space.”

The little midfield support for the Purdue attack led to a lack of possession in the Spartan’s half of the field, putting Purdue’s defense under pressure recurrently as they totaled 18 shots and 13 corners in the match.

The loss ends Purdue’s first season under Moodie, as he led the Boilers to their best record since 2021 and first conference wins since 2021, a promising start to the new era of Purdue soccer.