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Series History
All-Time vs Northwestern: Purdue leads 13-3
All-Time in Evanston: Purdue leads 5-2
Current Series Streak: Purdue has won 10 straight
Last Meeting: Purdue 1, Northwestern 0 (2013 in West Lafayette)
Last Meeting in Evanston: Purdue 2, Northwestern 1 (2011)
All-Time vs Illinois: Illinois leads 10-6-3
All-Time in Champaign: Illinois leads 8-0
Last Meeting: Purdue 1, Illinois 0 (2013 in West Lafayette)
Last Meeting in Champaign: Illinois 1, Purdue 0 (2011)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue women's soccer makes the short trek to the Land of Lincoln for its first Big Ten road trip, visiting Northwestern and No. 22 Illinois this weekend for the first time since 2011.
Friday's kickoff along the shores of Lake Michigan at Lakeside Field in Evanston is set for 8 p.m. ET. A large crowd is expected for Illinois' annual SoccerFest game Sunday, which is slated for a 2 p.m. ET kickoff at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium.
The Boilermakers (5-2-1, 1-1 Big Ten) posted a pair of 1-0 wins at home during its Illinois-Northwestern weekend a year ago. Maddy Williams scored the decisive goal in both games en route to winning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honors. She became the first Boilermaker since Lauren Sesselmann in 2001 to account for the game-winning goal in consecutive Big Ten games.
Purdue has won 10 consecutive games against Northwestern (4-2-2, 0-1-1 Big Ten) dating back to 2005, its longest win streak against any opponent in program history. The Boilermakers are 5-2 all-time in Evanston, but have struggled in Champaign. Their only wins at the Illinois Soccer and Track Stadium came in four neutral-site games in 2003, including a pair in the NCAA Tournament.
Last season, Purdue was one of only four teams to shut out the Fighting Illini (6-2, 1-1 Big Ten), ending Illinois' 20-game scoring streak in the process. Janelle Flaws led the nation with 23 goals last year, scoring against every Big Ten team except Penn State, Michigan and Purdue. Flaws scored twice in the Illini's 3-0 win at Nebraska Sunday and leads the team with six goals.
The Boilermakers are currently in the midst of a season-opening stretch in which they have not conceded more than one goal in any of their eight games, the longest such streak since the 2009 team did likewise in nine straight. But Northwestern and Illinois have also been playing well defensively. The Wildcats have surrendered only four goals in their eight games to lead the league in team goals against average. Illinois conceded three in a season-opening loss to Notre Dame, but has allowed only four in their seven games since.
Indiana takes on the Illini Thursday afternoon in Champaign in a game that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
Purdue's five Illinois natives -- Jordan Ginther, Gianna Milaro, Kate Fowee, Holly Gregory and Christa Szalach -- return to their home state this week. Meanwhile, senior Alex Hairston scored the game-winning goal at Lakeside Field in the Boilers' last visit to Northwestern. In Purdue's 1-0 wins against NU the last two years, Hairston assisted on the lone goal of the game.
Williams scored her 15th career goal Sunday in the victory against Ohio State. Needing only 26 games to reach that benchmark, she has become the fastest player in program history to score 15 career goals. The sophomore scored on both games of the Marshall-Youngstown State road trip earlier this month. Both of those games were played on artificial field turf surfaces, which the Boilers will see again Friday at Northwestern.
Quick Look at Northwestern: Highlighted by a 1-0 upset win at Marquette and a victory against common opponent Miami (Ohio), the Wildcats put together a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) after losing their season opener to Fairleigh Dickinson. Northwestern held the lead for much of the game in its Big Ten opener at defending conference champion Nebraska last week, but had to settle for a draw after the Huskers scored late. Addie Steiner is one of two players around the Big Ten to post a hat trick this season and lead the team with six goals. Six-foot tall freshman goalkeeper Lauren Clem ranks second in the Big Ten in goals against average (0.49) and save percentage (.875).
Quick Look at Illinois: The Fighting Illini's five-game win streak was snapped with a 2-0 loss at Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both sides. Illinois has scored three goals four times in its last six games. Allison Stucky had the game-winning goal at Nebraska and has already impacted five scores (3 goals, 2 assists) this year after scoring just once as a freshman in 2013. Junior Nicole Breece's team-leading five assists are one shy of her career total entering the season. Claire Wheatley split time at goalkeeper early this year, but is now back as the full-time starter after serving in the same role as a freshman in 2013.
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