Game Notes / Live Video / Live Audio / Gameday Central
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Illinois (3-9, 0-4 B1G) at Purdue (7-2-1, 2-0-1 B1G)
Thursday, Sept. 28 at 6 p.m. ET / BTN, BTN2Go, Fox Sports Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Illinois leads 11-8-3 / All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 6-0-3
2016: Purdue 2, Illinois 0 (Sept. 15 in Champaign)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: Purdue 3, Illinois 1 (2015)
Northwestern (5-4-2, 2-1-1 B1G) at Purdue
Sunday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m. ET / BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Folk Field / West Lafayette, Indiana
All-Time Series: Purdue leads 14-5 / All-Time in West Lafayette: Purdue leads 7-2
2016: Northwestern 2, Purdue 0 (Sept. 18 in Evanston)
Last Meeting in West Lafayette: Northwestern 1, Purdue 0 (2015)
Purdue's Last Win vs. NU: Purdue 2, Northwestern 1 -- OT (2014 in Evanston)
Purdue's Last Win vs. NU in West Lafayette: Purdue 1, Northwestern 0 (2013)
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Thursday: Boilermaker Blackout game; first 100 Purdue students receive a free Purdue scarf
Sunday: Alumnae day; 2007 Big Ten Tournament championship team recognized at halftime
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - As Purdue women's soccer's schedule turns home heavy again, the Boilermakers look to build on their strong start to Big Ten play as Illinois and Northwestern visit Folk Field this week.
Thursday's Big Ten home opener vs. Illinois is slated for a special 6 p.m. ET kickoff and will be televised live by the Big Ten Network. Fans are encouraged to wear black to Folk Field for the annual Boilermaker Blackout game. Members of Purdue's 2007 Big Ten Tournament championship team will be honored at halftime of Sunday's 1 p.m. game vs. Northwestern.
The 2007 team defeated both Northwestern and Illinois on consecutive days in the first two rounds of the Big Ten Tournament, which was held entirely in St. Paul that year.
By taking seven of the nine points while playing their first three conference games on the road, the Boilermakers are off to their best start in Big Ten play since 2009. Purdue is one of three unbeaten teams remaining in league play. Now it has the advantage of playing five of its next eight games at Folk Field. Including preseason exhibition games, the Boilermakers are 16-9-2 at home under third-year head coach Drew Roff.
Dating back to October 2016, Purdue has scored in nine straight games at Folk Field and 12 straight overall. The consistent scoring this year has helped the Boilermakers move atop the Big Ten with 25 goals.
With eight goals and eight assists, Maddy Williams has had a direct impact on 16 of the 25 goals (64 percent). As of Sept. 26, she was tied for the national lead in assists. She's also tops in the Big Ten with four game-winning goals and 24 points. With a goal or an assist this weekend, she'll eclipse Lauren Sesselmann's career points record that has stood since 2005. As a freshman in 2013, Williams scored the game-winner in both victories as Purdue swept a home weekend vs. Illinois and Northwestern.
HOME SUCCESS AGAINST BIG TEN'S LAND OF LINCOLN TEAMS
- The Boilermakers are a combined 13-2-3 at home all-time vs. Illinois (6-0-3) and Northwestern (7-2). Those marks represent Purdue's best home records against any Big Ten rivals. The road team had never won in the Purdue-Illinois series until the Boilermakers took last year's conference opener in Champaign 2-0. Purdue's 14 all-time wins vs. the Wildcats are its most against any opponent in program history. The Boilermakers won 11 straight in the series from 2005 through 2014.
- Hannah Mussallem and Andrea Petrina scored in Purdue's 2015 win vs. Illinois.
QUOTING COACH ROFF
- "When you look at the season as a whole you hope that games at home this time of the year are very important and people are excited about them. With the record that we have and the style of soccer that we're playing, the ability to come back home and play more in our comfort zone in front of our supporters, fans, and family, that's very important. We're thrilled to be back at home. You've got to take care of business at home if you want to be successful in the Big Ten. We have great fan support here and we all know that our surface is second to none. We want to get out there and knock the ball around, play with a lot of confidence and really get after it."
QUICK LOOK AT ILLINOIS
- The Fighting Illini will be looking to snap a six-game losing streak. They took the Big Ten's other two unbeaten teams -- No. 6 Penn State and No. 16 Rutgers -- to overtime over their last three games, but lost both contests. Scoring has not come easy for Illinois, registering a conference-low nine goals and scoring multiple goals in only two of its 12 games (both wins). Since conceding seven goals in their league opener at Ohio State, the Illini have surrendered just four goals in 293 minutes since.
- Six different players have accounted for Illinois' nine goals. Freshman defender Alicia Barker has gone the distance in 10 of the 12 games and leads the way with two assists. Sophomore Jaelyn Cunningham has taken over as the starting goalkeeper and played every minute this season. She leads the Big Ten with 74 saves, but has also faced the most shots in the league.
WORD ON THE WILDCATS
- Northwestern won its first Big Ten title last year, finishing in a three-way tie with Penn State and Minnesota. The Wildcats were 10-0-2 at home and capitalized on Penn State and Wisconsin, the Big Ten's top-ranked teams currently, not being on their schedule. Northwestern continues to excel defensively, conceding just 11 goals through 11 games and riding a shutout streak of 242 consecutive minutes going into Thursday's match at Indiana. Purdue and NU have both played DePaul, Loyola Marymount and Cincinnati. The Wildcats went 1-1-1 against that trio.
- Senior Lauren Clem was the 2016 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year after leading the nation with a 0.29 goals against average, recording a program-record 17 shutouts. She gave up as many goals (7) through six games this season as she did all of last year, but still has a strong .814 save percentage to go along with five shutouts. Like Clem, defender Kayla Sharples has yet to come off the field this season. She has scored on three of her four shots on goal, accounting for a pair of game-winners. With two goals and four assists, Marisa Viggiano has had a direct impact on half of NU's 12 goals. She has converted on a pair of penalty kicks this year and assisted on both goals in Sunday's win vs. Maryland.
Support your Boilermakers by coming to our game tomorrow!! Free scarves for the first 100 @LifeAtPurdue students! #BoilerUp pic.twitter.com/yPnrgDlbuh
-- Purdue Soccer (@PurdueSoccer) September 27, 2017