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Series History
All-Time vs. Marshall: Purdue leads 1-0
All-Time Series in Huntington: First Meeting
Last Meeting: Purdue 3, Marshall 0 (2003 in West Lafayette)
All-Time vs. Youngstown State: First Meeting
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue women's soccer hits the road for the first time this season and closes out non-conference play with an eastbound trip to Marshall and Youngstown State.
Kickoff Thursday evening at Marshall's Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex in Huntington, W.Va., is set for 7 p.m. Sunday's matinee at Youngstown State's Farmers National Bank in Eastern Ohio is slated to begin at noon.
Both second-year stadiums feature an artificial turf playing surface, which was part of the reason why head coach Robert Klatte worked to pair the two opponents together on the same road trip. Purdue (3-1) will play on turf again in two weeks for its Sept. 19 game at Northwestern. Big Ten play kicks off around the conference next weekend, with the Boilers hosting No. 7 Penn State and Ohio State.
Purdue has played Marshall (1-1-1) just once before, winning a 3-0 match at the 2003 Boilermaker Challenge Cup in West Lafayette. Youngstown State (2-2) is the second of the Boilers' four first-time opponents on the 2014 schedule.
Marshall is a member of Conference USA, a league Purdue has not played a member of since defeating Cincinnati in the 2004 season opener at the Boilermaker Challenge Cup. The 2004-05 school year was UC's last as a member of C-USA before moving on to the Big East and later the American Athletic Conference. The Boilermakers have not played a road game at a C-USA opponent since October 2001 at DePaul. Purdue's last game in the state of West Virginia was in August 2011 at WVU.
Morgantown, W.Va., native Erika Yohn, a freshman goalkeeper, returns to her home state this week. The 2014 roster also features six Ohio natives, including Mollie Kuramoto (Loveland), Kim Love (West Chester) and Maddy Williams (Perrysburg), whom have started each of the first four games this year. With the Boilers set to host Ohio State next Sunday, the game at Youngstown State represents their only regular-season contest in the Buckeye State this year. Purdue has played at least one game in the state of Ohio in 11 of the last 13 seasons.
The Boilermakers' attempted to host YSU's Horizon League rival Milwaukee in September 2012, but the game was canceled due to lightning and thunderstorms. Purdue's last game against a Horizon League opponent was a home win against Loyola in October 2009, though the Ramblers have since moved on to the Missouri Valley Conference. An October 2004 game at Milwaukee marked the last time the Boilers played at a Horizon foe.
Quick Look at Marshall (10-7-3 in 2013): Three has been the magic number for the Thundering Herd early in 2014. Marshall lost its season opener 3-0 at third-ranked Virginia, played VCU to a 3-3 draw in its home opener and won a 3-0 game at Eastern Illinois Friday. The Culicerto sisters -- Kelly and Kristine -- have each scored a pair of goals this season. Senior Myka DeMarco led the team with six goals in 2013, a season in which the Herd posted their first-ever postseason victory with an opening-round win at the C-USA Tournament. Goalkeeper Lizzie Kish is also back after playing every minute of 2013.
Quick Look at Youngstown State (4-13-1 in 2013): The Penguins host Malone University (Canton, Ohio), a Division II program, Friday before welcoming Purdue to campus. After dropping both of its games at a season-opening tournament hosted by Vermont, YSU bounced back last weekend with a home win against VMI and a 3-1 road win at Robert Morris. Six different players have already scored goals and three goalkeepers have already seen action. The Penguins only scored 14 goals in 18 games last season, but already have seven this year. Chelsey Haney and Cara Armstrong are both back after leading the team with three goals apiece. Jackie Podolsky has again seen the majority of action in goal.
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