WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Two second-half goals propelled the Purdue soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Saint Louis on Sunday afternoon at Folk Field.

Senior forward Sydney Duarte scored in the 55th minute and senior forward Sarah Griffith netted the game-winning goal in the 82nd to help Purdue remain unbeaten at home. The Boilermakers (3-1-2) rebounded with Sunday’s win over the Billikens (1-5-0) after suffering their first loss of the year on Thursday. Purdue has won three of its last four matches.

“I am really pleased with our performance and our effort today, particularly in the second half,” Purdue coach Drew Roff said. “I felt that we raised our level and scored some really nice goals, and we were able to get control the game in the second half, and that's exactly what we were hoping for after halftime.

“Emily Matthews played a fantastic game today. She was finding space and seems to get into and she was a real difference maker who created several good chances. Grace Walsh also really stepped it up in the second half and won a lot of balls in the midfield, allowing us to connect more of our passes and keep possession much better. Another player that stood out to me was Chloe Woodbeck. She was aggressive defensively but also composed on the ball. Those are some players that really raised the level, and we needed that today. I’m really pleased with their performance.”

Duarte’s goal was the fourth of her career and second in the last three matches. Griffith’s game-winner was her career-high-tying fifth goal this season and the 14th in her career. It was her sixth career game-winning goal.

Purdue took a 1-0 lead at 54:59. The play began with a throw-in near midfield, where two quick passes got the ball to freshman forward Gracie Dunaway by the near sideline. She beat one defender to get to the near corner of the 18-yard box and sent a beautiful cross in to a sprinting Duarte, who headed it in from six yards out.

“We were knocking on the door, creating some good chances, but obviously we needed to find that goal,” Roff said. “Gracie Dunaway made a tremendous play to push up one side of the defender, run around her, pick the ball back up on the run and serve a perfect cross. Then, Sidney Duarte did a fantastic job timing her run and getting on the end of it and finished with a great header. That’s the type of play that the game was desperately in need of, and I thought that once that happened, we continued to play with a lot of confidence.”

The Boilermakers extended their lead to 2-0 at 81:22, and again it was goal on a header. Off a throw-in by sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews, junior defender Lauren Holleran sent a ball into the box from 23 yards away by the near sideline. She met a moving Griffith, coming in from the penalty spot, and Griffith battled an SLU defender to head it in from seven yards away.

“Sarah Griffith’s goal, obviously a 2-0 lead felt pretty good,” Roff added. “I am a little disappointed we didn't finish strong with the shutout, because I felt like it could have been a well-deserved clean sheet, but that's just another reminder that we have to play the full 90 minutes and keep a clean sheet in a match like that. We still have things to work on, but a gritty performance today, and we really grew into the game. I’m proud of how our team found a way to win against a very strong side from Saint Louis.”

Dunaway and Holleran each earned their first assists, with Dunaway’s being her first collegiate point and Holleran’s her first point as a Boilermaker.

Griffith and senior midfielder Grace Walsh had a match-high five shots and one shot on goal, while Dunaway had three shots, one on goal. Senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova made three saves, all in the first half.

As a team, Purdue outshot Saint Louis 16-7, including 9-1 in the second half, and the home side held a 5-4 edge in shots on goal. The Billikens had a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks and were called for 11 fouls to the Boilermakers’ 10. SLU’s keeper joined Bova with three saves.

Purdue had seven shots and Saint Louis had six in the opening 45 minutes, though Bova made three saves as the visitors had a 3-1 advantage in shots on goal. SLU also had a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

After Bova made a stop in the third minute, the Boilermakers had an aggressive response, with five shots in the next four minutes and another one in the 10th. On a nice chance from the near side, Griffith hit the crossbar, and she and Walsh then followed with shots blocked within the next 1:25.

Walsh had another chance saved in the fifth minute, and added an attempt wide right 28 seconds later. In the 10th minute it was Griffith with a shot that just went over the top-left corner.

Following the flurry of chances for Purdue, Saint Louis responded with a shot that was blocked and two corner kicks in the next three minutes. Bova made a nice save in the 20th minute, and the defense forced a shot wide four minutes later.

SLU’s next shot was in the 33rd minute, but it went high, and Purdue had a shot go high in the 38th.

Bova made a fantastic save in the 44th minute to keep the match scoreless going into halftime. Off a Billiken corner kick, the ball was headed towards the goal from the top of the 18-yard box. SLU’s first shot was blocked at the edge of the six, but the rebound attempt went on goal and right to Bova, who tipped the ball out and over the crossbar.

The Purdue defense prevented a shot on the ensuing corner kick, and Saint Louis had one more corner before the half expired but did not get another shot off.

After intermission, the Boilermakers outshot the Billikens 9-1, with a 4-1 advantage in shots on goal.

Like the first half, Purdue had a strong start to the second, with a trio of shots in the opening five minutes, by Griffith, which was high, Mathews, which was saved, and Dunaway, which was blocked.

Two corner kicks followed before Duarte’s goal in the 55th minute.

Dunaway nearly made it 2-0 in the 63rd, but her shot was saved, and Walsh added a chance that went wide in the 73rd and one that was blocked in the 75th.

Six minutes later, Griffith scored to extend the lead to 2-0.

Saint Louis’ lone shot of the half found the back of the net on a goal by Emily Gaebe at 88:29. Anna Walsh earned the assist on what proved to be the final chance of the match for either team.