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Series History
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 12-3-3
All-Time Series in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 7-1-1
Last Meeting: Indiana 2, Purdue 1 (2013 in West Lafayette)
Purdue's Last Win: Purdue 8, Indiana 2 (2011 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue women's soccer aims to reclaim the Golden Boot traveling trophy when its hosts rival Indiana Saturday evening and will do so while wearing special pink jerseys in honor of the special "Boot Cancer" match.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at the Boilermaker Soccer Complex. Purdue will be hosting the Hoosiers for the second year in a row and fourth time in five seasons. Last year, IU rallied for a 2-1 victory with a pair of second-half goals, posting its first-ever official victory in West Lafayette in the process.
The Boilermakers will be wearing special white uniforms with pink stripes, pink lettering and pink numbers along with pink shorts. Commemorative jerseys will be available for fans to bid on via a silent auction before kickoff and during the first half of the game. All proceeds will be donated to the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. Free-will donations are also being accepted at the field Saturday night.
Additionally, students who wear pink to the game will receive $1 admission. Those not sporting pink are encouraged to wear black for the annual Boilermaker Blackout game at the Soccer Complex. Sophomore defender Claire Albertz is scheduled to perform the National Anthem live from the field for the second time this year, so fans are encouraged to arrive prior to the 7 p.m. kickoff to hear her sing the Star Spangled Banner.
The Golden Boot traveling trophy was introduced to the Indiana-Purdue women's soccer rivalry in 2002. Purdue has a 12-3-3 all-time record against the Hoosiers but lost possession of the Golden Boot for the first time in 2012 when its 15-game unbeaten streak against IU was snapped with a 3-0 loss in Bloomington. Indiana will bring the trophy to campus Saturday and it would remain in West Lafayette if the Boilermakers win. The Hoosiers retain possession in the event of a draw.
Head coach Robert Klatte's .750 winning percentage against IU ranks sixth in Purdue history among coaches with a minimum 10 games against the Hoosiers. He's third among active coaches behind volleyball's Dave Shondell (.875, 21-3) and women's basketball's Sharon Versyp (.813, 13-3).
Mollie Kuramoto was among the Boilers' five different goal scorers in the rainy 8-2 win against Indiana in 2011, Purdue's last in the series. Kuramoto opened the scoring in the 28th minute with her first career goal in Big Ten play.
Last year, the Boilers held a 1-0 lead for 36 minutes thanks to a goal from Jordan Frick in the 32nd minute. But the Hoosiers equalized in the 69th minute and went ahead in the 81st. Indiana goalkeeper Shannon Flower, who has served as the starter once again this season, finished the night with 10 saves to lead her team to the comeback victory. The Hoosiers went on to a fourth-place showing in the Big Ten standings, their best finish since 2007. Indiana defeated Illinois at the Big Ten Tournament and DePaul in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Purdue and Indiana have each endured their fair share of struggles during conference play this year. Both teams' last victory came at Northwestern in overtime the weekend of Sept. 19-21. The Boilermakers have lost eight straight since while IU is winless in its last seven, posting only a scoreless draw at Maryland during that stretch. The teams have only scored a combined three goals (two for Purdue, one for IU) during their winless skids.
While the two in-state rivals square off Saturday night, every other Big Ten team plays twice this weekend. The top four teams in the standings - No. 7 Penn State (27 points), No. 12 Wisconsin (22), No. 16 Rutgers (22) and Michigan (22) - have all clinched Big Ten Tournament berths. Maryland (14) and Illinois (13) are looking to hold off Nebraska (11), Michigan State (10) and Ohio State (9) for the final two tourney berths. Michigan State at Illinois, Maryland at Minnesota, and Rutgers at Wisconsin are the key games around the league Friday.
The Boilermaker Soccer Complex will serve as the host of the seven-game tournament from Nov. 5-9 even though Purdue (and Indiana) has been eliminated from contention.
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Post by Purdue Women's Soccer.