Preseason Info Packet / Buy Season Tickets
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- August is upon us again and another school year of intercollegiate athletics will begin soon. Purdue women's soccer was the first group of Boilermakers to officially report to campus for the beginning of their season, reuniting Tuesday afternoon and kicking off their training camp Wednesday morning.
Purdue's 2016 roster will feature a great deal of experience but also quite a few new faces. Second-year head coach Drew Roff welcomes back 21 letterwinners, including 14 seniors. Meanwhile, Roff's first Purdue recruiting class also joins the mix this year, a group featuring nine freshmen. Twenty-three of the 30 Boilermakers on the roster this year will either be freshmen or seniors.
Last year, Roff led Purdue to its first winning record (9-8-1) since 2009. The Boilermakers were also victorious in five of their exhibition games during the 2015-16 school year, winning both of their preseason games in August and posting a 4-1 record in the spring. Highlights along the way included a win vs. Illinois to remain unbeaten (6-0-3) all-time against the Illini in West Lafayette, shutting out NCAA College Cup qualifier Rutgers in a scoreless draw at home, holding the lead in the second half vs. eventual national champion Penn State, and reclaiming the Golden Boot rivalry trophy with a season-ending win at Indiana.
Most encouragingly, the team was competitive throughout the 2015 campaign. The Boilermakers suffered only two losses by more than one goal; of the 1,671 minutes of regular-season action Purdue played in 2015, it trailed by multiple goals for only 110 minutes.
After a handful of double-session training days from Aug. 3 to 8, the Boilermakers travel to Chicago for the first of their two preseason games. The Aug. 10 exhibition game at Loyola is paired with an Aug. 14 preseason contest at home against Miami (Ohio), rounding out the 20-game fall slate.
But the goal this season will be to play more than 20 games by advancing to the postseason for the first time since 2009. Purdue has not qualified for the Big Ten Tournament since the event returned from its two-year hiatus in 2011. A top-eight finish in the conference standings will allow the Boilermakers to achieve that initial goal. Five Big Ten teams earned NCAA Tournament bids last season. Roff's Illinois State teams went to the NCAA Tournament five times in his eight years as head coach. The extended-outlook goal is to build that same consistency of excellence here at Purdue.
The Boilermakers return seven starters from last season, but that number doesn't tell the full story of the bevy of experience on this year's roster. Maddy Williams has missed only one game during her career and enters her senior season with 24 goals, 11 shy of the program's all-time record. Hannah Leinert had seven goals and five assists in her first season as a Boilermaker, and has 34 goals in her collegiate career. Erika Arkans scored eight goals, four of them going down as game winners, in only 21 games as an underclassman. In the midfield, Dagny Olson (11 career goals in 49 starts) and Andrea Petrina (20 career starts) have both proved to be playmakers.
Goalkeepers Erika Yohn (20), Jordan Ginther (18) and Maddy Olsen (3) have made a combined 41 starts during their careers. Mikayla Lasky (43 career starts), Vanessa Korolas (started all 37 games as an underclassman) and Dannah Williams (made 16 starts as a freshman) headline Purdue's returning defenders.
Last season, Purdue scored more goals (28) than it conceded (24) for the first time since 2009. The Boilermakers scored nine more goals while playing one fewer regular-season game. Of the 28 goals for, 24 were scored by players that are back for the 2016 campaign.
Seniors will be featured on this year's schedule posters. The first edition of the poster, featuring Megan Kaser, Christa Szalach and Lasky, was unveiled late last month. A countdown to the Aug. 19 regular-season opener vs. Marshall featuring the team's returning letterwinners is also ongoing on the team's social media accounts.
Purdue students will once again receive free tickets for all games at Folk Field, the new name of the Boilermaker Soccer Complex. The program's official student support group, the Pitch Protectors, is also gearing up for another season cheering on the team from the sidelines of Folk Field. New this season will be the availability of beer and wine at weekend games (Friday through Sunday) at the concession stand for fans 21 and older. Alcohol sales will be available from one hour prior to kickoff until the start of the second half.