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GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Michigan State (6-10-1, 3-7-0 B1G) at Purdue (4-11-1, 2-7-1 B1G)
Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Tied 8-8-1
All-Time Series in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 4-3-1
Last Meeting: MSU 2, Purdue 0 (10/11/14 in West Lafayette)
Purdue's Last Win vs. MSU: Purdue 2, MSU 0 (10/5/08 in West Lafayette)
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ââ'¬" Purdue women's soccer closes out its 2016 campaign with its first Wednesday home game since 2012, hosting Michigan State at Folk Field.
Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET. The first 200 fans in attendance will receive a free Purdue soccer flag. The Boilermakers have never played a Big Ten game at home on a Wednesday before.
Purdue and Michigan State will both be striving to close out their seasons with a victory. The Spartans' upset win vs. Penn State on Saturday, MSU's first win vs. the Nittany Lions since 2009, created chaos at the top of the Big Ten table. Instead of PSU controlling its own destiny for yet another outright conference title, Northwestern, Minnesota and Penn State are now in a three-way tie for first. Not only are all three teams trying to win at least a share of the Big Ten title Wednesday, but also secure the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. The top seed hosts both semifinals and the championship game if it wins its quarterfinal game at home Sunday.
A year ago, the Boilermakers were victorious in their season finale for the first time ever. Purdue won back the Golden Boot trophy with that season-ending win at Indiana. The trophy remained in West Lafayette after Saturday's 2-2 draw with the Hoosiers. Although a draw was not the preferred method of accomplishing the goal of retaining the Golden Boot, it got the job done. Now Purdue will look to send off its 12 seniors with a victory.
#Purdue head coach & Michigan State alumnus Drew Roff previews the 2016 season finale vs. the Spartans. #BoilerUp https://t.co/Gf11nk9Xk3
- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) October 25, 2016
The Boilermakers' large senior class was honored at the Senior Day ceremony held prior to the Oct. 9 home game vs. Ohio State. Together they've combined to make 210 career starts for Purdue, including 61 this year. Head coach Drew Roff praised the class for the commitment it has demonstrated since the coaching change in December 2014, and for remaining positive this year throughout a tough-luck campaign.
The Boilermakers' six-game winless streak (0-5-1) against MSU dating back to 2009 ranks as their third-longest active drought against any Big Ten rival. Purdue has only gone winless longer against Penn State and Wisconsin, which have both qualified for the Big Ten Tournament every year since the event was reinstated in 2011. On the other hand, the Spartans have made it just once (2011) in that same time frame. Purdue and Michigan State did not play last year as one of two non-play opponents in the new 11-game league schedule. Dating back to the inaugural 1998 campaign, the Spartans had been one of four teams (Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State) the Boilermakers had played every year.
Roff was a four-year starting forward for the MSU men's team in the 1990s. He said Tuesday that longtime Michigan State head coach Tom Saxton, then an assistant with the men's team, took Roff and his parents on a tour of the MSU campus on his recruiting visit to East Lansing. Roff's 2009 Illinois State team played at MSU's DeMartin Soccer Stadium, marking the only previous occasion he coached against his alma mater.
Jamie Cheslik scored twice in Michigan State's upset win vs. Penn State and shares the team lead with four goals. Marisa Oleksiak and Hannah Jones have also scored four times, Jones posting a hat trick in an overtime win vs. Maryland. Goalkeeper Savanna Wojtanowski, who has split time this year as transfer from Ferris State, finished with a career-high 14 saves vs. PSU. Three of MSU's six wins this year have come in overtime. The Spartans also took Oregon State and Northwestern to overtime before losing on a golden goal against.