2017 Schedule: PDF / HTML
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Eleven home games and nine total matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams highlight Purdue women's soccer's 2017 schedule, announced by head coach Drew Roff.
The Boilermakers open the regular season with five straight home games as part of a six-game homestand from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3. After kicking off Big Ten play with three straight road games, Purdue plays five of its final eight regular-season games at home over the final month. Illinois (Sept. 28), Northwestern (Oct. 1), Nebraska (Oct. 12), Iowa (Oct. 15) and Maryland (Oct. 25) all visit Folk Field during that stretch.
Admission is now free to all fans for every home game at Folk Field this fall.
Purdue's five-game road stretch in September begins with a Louisville-Cincinnati weekend road trip. Big Ten play kicks off the following weekend with a Michigan-Michigan State road trip. The Boilermakers have not played at Michigan State, Roff's alma mater, since October 2013.
"Starting off the regular season with a string of very competitive home games is something we are looking forward to," Roff said. "I think playing our first five games here at Folk Field will be a great way to get our 12 incoming freshmen acclimated to the college game. Going on the road for the Louisville- Cincinnati weekend will be a good way to transition into Big Ten play. Playing teams of that caliber away from home will certainly prepare us for that first Big Ten weekend in Michigan. The Thursday-Sunday format is more common this year than in the past, but I think it will help with recovery, and hopefully help prevent injuries in the long run."
The Golden Boot trophy rivalry game with Indiana will be played in Bloomington on Saturday, Sept. 23. Purdue won the Golden Boot back with a 2-0 win at IU's Armstrong Stadium in October 2015 and kept possession of the trophy with last year's 2-2 draw at Folk Field.
The regular season opens nationwide Friday, Aug. 18. The Boilermakers host a quality Kent State side that won the Mid-American Conference's East Division and Tournament a year ago, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament. Game No. 2 will be against another first-time opponent, Loyola Marymount, and is set for Monday, Aug. 21 at Folk Field. Purdue has not played on a Monday since defeating Ball State on Labor Day of the 2009 Boilermaker Challenge Cup tournament.
Notre Dame, Dayton, Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Wisconsin are the other teams on Purdue's schedule that qualified for the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Boilermakers visit South Bend (Aug. 9) and host Iowa State (Aug. 12) for their preseason exhibition games.
Purdue is scheduled to host Iowa (Oct. 15) for the first time since September 2011. The Hawkeyes played three games at Folk Field during the 2014 Big Ten Tournament, but the last four Purdue-Iowa games have all been contested in Iowa City.
The Boilermakers are scheduled to play a season-high seven games on Sundays. Four different two-game weekends are set up with Thursday-Sunday formats: DePaul-Dayton (Aug. 31-Sept. 3), Michigan-Michigan State (Sept. 14-17), Illinois-Northwestern (Sept. 28-Oct. 1) and Nebraska-Iowa (Oct. 12-15).
Purdue also has the advantage of playing three of its last four regular-season games at Folk Field from Oct. 12 to 25.
SCHEDULE BREAKDOWN
- Home Games: 11
- Road Games: 9
- Games Against 2016 NCAA Tournament Qualifiers: 9
- Big Ten Home: Illinois, Northwestern, Nebraska, Iowa, Maryland
- Big Ten Road: Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Penn State
- Big Ten Non-Play: Ohio State, Rutgers
- Big Ten Tournament: Oct. 29 to Nov. 5; top 8 qualify ââ'¬" site locations TBA
- Non-Conference Home: Kent State, Loyola Marymount, Indiana State, DePaul, Dayton
- Non-Conference Road: Louisville, Cincinnati
- Preseason Exhibition: at Notre Dame, Iowa State
- 2016 NCAA Tournament Qualifiers: Penn State, Northwestern, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Kent State, Dayton