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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Purdue (1-1) at Baylor (1-1)
Friday, Aug. 26 at 8 p.m. ET
Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field / Waco, Texas
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Purdue 2, Baylor 1 (8/28/15 in West Lafayette)
Cincinnati (2-0) at Purdue
Sunday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Ind.
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 1-0-1
Last Meeting: No. 21 Purdue 0, Cincinnati 0 (8/29/06 in Cincinnati)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: Purdue 2, Cincinnati 1 (8/28/04)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue women's soccer squares off against two quality opponents this weekend, making its first trip to Texas since 2009 for Friday's game at Baylor before hosting Cincinnati on Sunday.
Kickoff at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field in Waco, Texas, is set for 8 p.m. ET. After flying home Saturday, the Boilermakers take on UC at Folk Field on Sunday at 1 p.m. Purdue youth camp attendees are invited back for the camp reunion game and receive special $1 admission. The Boilermakers don't have another Sunday home game on their schedule until Sept. 25.
Purdue's last visit to the Lone Star State produced one of the biggest wins in program history, an upset win at sixth-ranked Texas A&M in August 2009. Grace Dunker's family hosted the Boilermakers in the Dallas suburb of Southlake shortly after the team's flight landed in the area Thursday.
Purdue scored early and late in last year's 2-1 win vs. Baylor. Maddy Williams gave the Boilermakers an early lead with a goal in the third minute and Dagny Olson accounted for the game winner in the 85th minute. Olson's game winner was scored only 75 seconds after the Bears came up with an equalizer. That stood as the second smallest amount of time in program history (since 2000) between an opponent's equalizer and Purdue's game winner until the Boilermakers' victory vs. Marshall last weekend. Mikayla Lasky scored the game winner in the season opener only 55 seconds after the Thundering Herd equalized.
Gabby LaMere, Hannah Mussallem & Drew Roff preview @PurdueSoccer's Baylor-Cincinnati weekend. https://t.co/dK41nsmhPY
-- Purdue Video (@purduevideo) August 25, 2016
Baylor finished in second place in the Big 12 Conference a year ago. After beginning the season 0-4-1, the Bears put together a seven-game win streak. A season-ending loss to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament was Baylor's first defeat in regulation since its Aug. 28 loss at Purdue. The Bears split their season-opening round trip in Michigan last weekend, winning at Detroit Mercy and losing at Michigan State.
The Boilermakers have not played Cincinnati in the regular season since August 2006, a game that produced one of only nine scoreless draws in program history. The Bearcats will be making their first appearance in West Lafayette since 2004. However, the two teams did square off in a spring exhibition game in April 2015, UC winning that day in the Queen City.
Cincinnati won the American Athletic Conference Tournament last season, knocking off USF on penalty kicks in the championship game. The Bearcats defeated Dayton and Northern Kentucky during the season-opening weekend and will take their 2-0 record into Friday's game at Evansville. Julie Gavorski's golden goal with 14 seconds left in double overtime was the difference against a Dayton team that Purdue will take on next weekend. Cincinnati also lost to Indiana in a preseason exhibition game.
The Boilermakers are anticipating a pair of physical games against teams from competitive conferences. And every game the rest of the season will be against a formidable opponent. Next weekend Purdue takes on another Big 12 foe (No. 7 West Virigina) and an accomplished team from southwestern Ohio (Dayton). Utah visits Folk Field for the Sept. 9 non-conference finale.
Thanks for hosting us Dunker Family!! #BoilermakerFamily #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/UEV9Ph3qiN
-- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) August 25, 2016
QUICK LOOK AT BAYLOR
- Even though the team leader only had six goals (freshman Lauren Piercy), nine different Bears scored at least twice last year. Sarah King, who scored the equalizer against Purdue, had 10 assists as a freshman. Baylor enjoyed a plus-11 goal differential in the second half of games and the overall shot totals suggest the Bears often times enjoyed an edge in possession. Baylor was credited with 159 more shots than its opponents last year while conceding only 60 shots on goal in 19 games. Goalkeeper Sara Martinson only had to make 36 saves while compiling a 0.77 goals against average. She and Rebecca Gartner split time against Purdue last year, but Martinson has been the starter again early this year.
QUICK LOOK AT CINCINNATI
- Vanessa Gilles, who led the team in minutes played as a sophomore last season, was named the AAC's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. The Bearcats have five Canadians on their roster, including two from the same hometown (Mississiauga, Ontario) as Purdue's Vanessa Korolas. Cincinnati lost its top goal scorer (Danielle Rotheram, 10) to graduation. Meanwhile, Jaycie Brown (7 goals in 2015) and assist leader Cassie Wheldon (6) have yet to see action this season. Julie Gavorski has scored the game winner in each of the first two games despite coming off the bench both days. Natalie Smith has taken over as the starting goalkeeper after splitting time last year.