LHN '20 Alum Emily Mathews’ Hat Trick at Purdue University

 

Mathews’ Hat Trick and Bova’s Saves Power Purdue

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LINCOLN, Neb. – Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews scored a hat trick and senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made five fantastic saves as the Purdue soccer team beat Nebraska, 3-1, to begin Big Ten Conference play on Sunday.

The Boilermakers (6-1-2, 1-0-0 Big Ten) have won four in a row and six of their last seven games. Purdue opened the Big Ten slate with a road win for the first time since 2017, and the 6-1-2 start to the season is its best since 2007.

On a hot, sun-soaked day at Hibner Stadium in Lincoln, Mathews registered the seventh hat trick in program history and the second by a Boilermaker this season. Purdue has multiple hat tricks in the same year for the first time in program history, after senior forward Sarah Griffith scored three goals on August 29. Mathews' three goals is a career-best and matches the team record. The Macomb, Michigan, native entered the match with one career goal, scored two games ago.


"Emily had an incredible performance with three goals, and I just love the mentality she had in the second half," Purdue coach Drew Roff said. "She was going to goal, she wasn't looking to slow it down and combine, she was going to seal the deal herself. On her first goal, she stepped up and scored a brilliant goal off a nice pass from Gracie Dunaway, and that was really a game-changing moment, we really needed that momentum. It was an incredible overall performance today by Emily Mathews."

Mathews' first goal came in the 16th minute, but Nebraska quickly answered to even the match at 1-1 less than two minutes later. Mathews scored her second in the 71st minute to give the Boilermakers the lead back, and she netted her third on a breakaway in the 90th minute to complete the hat trick. Her second goal also was her second career game-winning goal.

Meanwhile, Bova made five great saves to hold the Cornhuskers (4-5-0, 0-1-0 Big Ten) to just one goal on the day. She made a highlight-reel-worthy save in the 57th minute to prevent NU from taking the lead.

"Marisa made a couple incredible saves that really sparked our team," Roff added. "Her best save came on a well-struck shot that was going for the top corner, and she made just an unbelievable save, there are only a handful of goalkeepers in the country that make that save, and then she smothered the rebound as it came down. It was a tremendous game-changing play at a moment when we really needed it. When your goalkeeper steps up and makes a play like that, it inspires the rest of the team and also sends a message of 'hey, if you can do that, then we can go get a goal.'"

The Boilermakers had an 18-13 advantage in shots, and a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Mathews had a team-high five shots, four on goal, while senior midfielder Grace Walsh and freshman forward Megan Hutchinson each had three shots. Bova's five saves were countered by four stops by NU's keeper.

"It was a gritty team performance, I'm really proud of the effort, I'm really proud of us finding a way, and two of our special players really came through for us when it mattered the most," Roff added. "It was an all-around great team effort and we really showed how mentally tough we are. The second half we were more aggressive, won more tackles, and did really well with winning balls in the air. Our back line did an outstanding job, our midfield stepped up, and then the final third, there was some space in behind them. I thought we did a fantastic job in transition, creating some really good chances. Today was a day where we showed that we were a mentally strong team, we showed that we have physically and mentally tough players, and that's what I'm most proud of."

Purdue took a 1-0 lead at 15:48, as Mathews scored from just beyond the penalty spot. She received a cross from freshman forward Gracie Dunaway near the far sideline, and on the bounce off her foot, she volleyed it over the Nebraska keeper. Dunaway and Walsh earned assists on the goal.

The Huskers leveled the match at 1-1 less than two minutes later, at 17:38. Reagan Raabe scored from Gwen Lane.

More than 50 minutes passed before the Boilermakers regained the lead, at 70:52. Griffith sent the ball up-field to senior forward Sydney Duarte, who one-touched it to her left to Mathews, on the run. She received the pass just outside the far corner of the 18-yard box and beat NU's goalkeeper, who was off her line at the edge of the six-yard box. Griffith and Duarte collected the assists.

Nine minutes later, Mathews provided an insurance goal at 89:01 to make it a 3-1 contest with a breakaway goal. As the Purdue defense cleared a corner kick, Mathews beat the Nebraska defender to the ball near the center circle. She sent the ball past midfield, where she picked it back up and had a one-on-one opportunity with the Nebraska goalkeeper at the top of the 18-yard box. The keeper made a great save on Mathews' first shot, but as the rebound bounced to the right, Mathews converted on her second attempt to seal the victory and the Boilermakers' second hat trick of the season.

Up next, Purdue makes the short trip west to Champaign, Illinois, to face Illinois on Thursday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT. The Boilermakers then return home to host Iowa on Sunday, September 26, with kickoff at Folk Field set for 1 p.m. ET. It's the annual Reunion Weekend, and Purdue soccer alumnae can visit https://boile.rs/SOCReunion21 to RSVP and register.

For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

CONGRATULATIONS EMILY!!

 
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