Canes soccer storms past Boilermakers 2-0

Things went much in the same way they have all season for the University of Miami women’s soccer team Wednesday night.

After returning from its first road trip with two wins and two shutouts, the Hurricanes defeated Purdue 2-0 at Cobb Stadium for a program-best sixth straight victory.

ACC Freshman of the Week, goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo, recorded her fifth shutout in six games, while sophomore forward Brittney Steinbruch scored both goals.

“It’s an honor to set a record, especially with this team,” Alonzo said. “We played amazing and we came together as a team at the end.”

In a physical game where both teams got called for nine fouls, Miami (6-0-0) controlled possession for most of the first half and took the lead in the 22nd minute, when Steinbruch cut through the defense for her team-leading eighth goal.

With a two-goal cushion in the second half thanks to Steinbruch’s second blast in the 59th minute, the Boilermakers (3-2-1), who were at one time ranked eighth nationally last season, applied pressure with more players attacking on offense, but failed to find the back of the net.

“I think for the most part it was us defending,” Steinbruch said. “For me, just to be up top with the girls in back there working so hard, you know that the goals will come.”

Earlier in the week, Purdue’s newspaper, The Exponent, published an article entitled “Boilers anticipating facing unproved Hurricanes,” in which head coach Rob Klatte implied that the undefeated Canes had faced sub-par competition so far this season.

“Something you have to realize about our team is that we have a lot of pride,” head coach Tricia Taliaferro said. “We are a very close group and we take things personal. It’s our field, our home and that’s what we hold onto. We got a hold of a paper and it was a little motivating.”

The 26th-ranked team in the nation takes the field again at 7 p.m. Friday night to host Eastern Michigan (2-1-2).