Game Notes / Live Audio / Live Video / Friday Promotions / Gameday Central
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Wisconsin (3-3-4, 0-1-1 B1G) at Purdue (3-5, 1-1 B1G)
Friday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Tied 8-8-3
All-Time Series in West Lafayette: Tied 4-4-1
Last Meeting: Wisconsin 1, Purdue 0 (9/27/15 in Madison)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: No. 13 Wisconsin 1, Purdue 0 (9/28/14)
Purdue's Last Win vs. UW: Purdue 1, Wisconsin 0 (9/28/08 in Madison)
Purdue's Last Home Win vs. UW: No. 11 Purdue 4, Wisconsin 0 (9/28/07)
No. 9 Minnesota (7-2-1, 1-0-1 B1G) at Purdue
Sunday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Minnesota leads 11-8
All-Time Series in West Lafayette: Minnesota leads 5-4
Last Meeting: No. 18 Minnesota 3, Purdue 1 (9/25/15 in St. Paul)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: Minnesota 1, Purdue 0 (9/26/14)
Purdue's Last Win vs. UM: Purdue 2, Minnesota 1 (10/23/11 in St. Paul)
Purdue's Last Home Win vs. UM: No. 8 Purdue 3, Minnesota 1 (10/14/07)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Purdue women's soccer hosts Wisconsin and No. 9 Minnesota for its first home weekend of Big Ten play, welcoming the league's defending co-champion and current top-ranked team to Folk Field.
A dedication ceremony commemorating Folk Field as the new name of the facility will be held at 6:45 p.m. ET before Friday's game against Wisconsin. Co-captains Hannah Leinert and Christa Szalach will be among those to address the crowd at the ceremony as the Folk Family is recognized for its support of the field and program.
FRIDAY'S PREGAME ACTIVITIES; FREE ADMISSION FOR ALL PURDUE STUDENTS
- 4:45 p.m. -- Student shuttle begins campus loop (stops at Stewart, Third & Jischke, Purdue West)
- 5 p.m. -- Free Tailgate with pizza for Purdue students begins; join the Pitch Protectors for $5
- 5:30 p.m. -- Gates open at Folk Field; JPC dinner begins at soccer complex tent
- 5:30 p.m. -- Beer & wine available for purchase next to concession stand until start of second half
- 6:30 p.m. -- Student tailgate ends and Pitch Protectors make their way into Folk Field
- 6:45 p.m. -- Folk Field dedication ceremony
- 7 p.m. -- Starters announced and National Anthem
- 7:10 p.m. -- Opening Kickoff vs. Wisconsin
Sunday's 1 p.m. match against Minnesota has been designated as the Hammer Down Cancer game. The Boilermakers will be wearing special black uniforms with volt yellow letters and numbers. The commemorative jerseys will be available for purchase via silent auction during the game. Proceeds benefit the Purdue Center for Cancer Research. Fans are also encouraged to wear volt or neon yellow to the game Sunday.
Beginning this weekend, the Boilermakers play six of their final nine games at home. Having compiled an 8-4-1 regular-season home record since Drew Roff took over as head coach at the start of last season, Purdue will strive to ride its home-field advantage to its first Big Ten Tournament berth since 2008. Last week's conference-opening win at Illinois was also very helpful in the quest, especially with the Boilermakers having never beaten the Illini in Champaign before.
Next, Purdue strives to end its recent struggles against Wisconsin and Minnesota. The Boilermakers have not beaten either side at home since 2007. In the years since, Purdue is 1-5-2 vs. the Badgers and 1-8 vs. the Gophers overall. That's a stark reversal at where the all-time series stood after 2007 when the Boilermakers were 7-3-1 vs. Wisconsin and 7-3 vs. Minnesota.
Lydia Brosnahan, Drew Roff & Erika Arkans discuss last week's win at Illinois & preview Wisconsin-Minnesota weekend. https://t.co/zdrixbgITQ
-- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) September 21, 2016
The Badgers will be making their first appearance in West Lafayette since winning the 2014 Big Ten Tournament with three victories in five days. Wisconsin followed that up with a share of its first regular-season title since 1994, winning eight straight games from Sept. 25 to Oct. 24. But a 3-4-3 mark entering that win streak coupled with a quarterfinal loss at home to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament cost the Badgers an NCAA Tournament bid.
Wisconsin's four draws this season are easily the most in the league, three of those coming at home. The Badgers remain strong defensively, conceding only eight goals in 10 games. But they've scored more than one goal in a game only twice, a big reason why they had to settle for home draws against the likes of Milwaukee and Drake during non-conference play.
Minnesota, meanwhile, leads the Big Ten with 23 goals, 13 coming in their five home games. Simone Kolander, the 2015 Big Ten Forward of the Year, leads the league with nine goals. Like UW, the Gophers also played Stanford and Santa Clara back-to-back on a West Coast road trip. Minnesota's two losses both came at the hands of top 10-ranked teams in Duke and Stanford.
The top games around the conference last weekend were played in Madison and St. Paul as Wisconsin and Minnesota hosted nationally ranked Penn State and Ohio State. The Gophers were able to come away with four points via a 1-1 draw with PSU and a 3-0 win vs. OSU. The Badgers had to settle for a single point after OSU scored in the 85th minute to salvage a 2-2 draw and PSU was a 1-0 winner Sunday.
Next week's schedule features only a single game for the majority of the teams around the Big Ten. Purdue visits Iowa for a Friday night game while Minnesota and Wisconsin square off in in their annual rivalry game, contested on a Saturday in St. Paul this year. Maryland and Rutgers vs. Michigan and Michigan State are the only teams to play two games next weekend, squaring off in the Great Lakes State.
Senior MF Dagny Olson goes Off The Record to talk about the dedication of @PurdueSoccer's Folk Field. #BoilerUp https://t.co/KlxoCFrVZ2
-- Purdue Athletics (@PurdueSports) September 22, 2016
QUICK LOOK AT WISCONSIN
- With three goals and two assists, Micaela Powers has played a central role in five of the Badgers' nine goals this year. Rose Lavelle is regarded as UW's top player and among the conference's most skilled. The 2015 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year leads the league with 41 shots but has just one goal to show for it. The Badgers have posted huge advantages on their opponents in shots (172-82) and corner kicks (84-43) but have just a plus-one goal differential at nine to eight. Goalkeeper Caitlyn Clem is in her second season as the starter. Her sister Courtney was Michigan State's starting `keeper from 2012 to 2014.
QUICK LOOK AT MINNESOTA
- With Kolander (9 goals) and April Bockin (5, 2 coming on penalty kicks) leading the way, six players have teamed up to account for all of the Gophers' 23 goals. Their preferred style of attack is services into the 18-yard box after players dribble deep into an opponent's end up the sideline or flank. And it shows in Minnesota's assist numbers; twelve different players have already recorded an assist entering the weekend. Seniors Josee Stiever (4 goals, 3 assists) and four-year starting goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs are also big parts of the Gophers' very experienced roster.