CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Purdue soccer team takes its four-match win streak to Champaign, Illinois, for a matchup at Illinois on Thursday, September 23, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT, at Demirjian Park.
The match will be broadcast live on B1G+ and live stats are available at FightingIllini.com. Additional updates also can be found by following @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links to follow along are available on the schedule page at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
The Boilermakers enter the midweek matchup with a 6-1-2 record, their best start to a season since 2007. Purdue has won four in a row and six of its last seven contests, and the team opened the Big Ten slate with a road win for the first time since 2017.
Seventeen players have earned at least a point and 15 have at least one assist, both the most in the Big Ten. Nine Boilermakers have scored a goal, tied for fourth-most in the conference. Purdue boasts an 18-7 advantage in goal differential, including 12-3 in the second half.
Through nine matches, the Boilermakers are second in the Big Ten with 5.00 saves per match and third with 18 goals, 21 assists, 57 points and an .865 save percentage. Individually, senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova leads the conference and is No. 19 nationally with 850:00 minutes played, and she also leads the league with 45 saves and is No. 4 with an .865 save percentage. Senior forward Sarah Griffith is third in the Big Ten with 4.12 shots per game and fifth in goals (5) and shots on goal per game (1.75). Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews is sixth in game-winning goals (2).
Griffith also leads the team with 11 points, and Mathews is second with 10 points. Freshman forward Gracie Dunaway has a squad-best four assists and is third with six points. Bova has played every minute in goal and has allowed seven goals for a 0.74 goals-against average. She has six wins with two shutouts.
The Fighting Illini are 4-4-0 and 0-1-0 in the Big Ten following a 2-1, double-overtime loss at No. 21 Michigan on Friday.
MATHEWS EARNS WEEKLY ACCOLADES
After she scored a hat trick in Purdue's victory at Nebraska, Mathews was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week on Tuesday. Both the Big Ten and TDS honors are the first of her career.
A Macomb, Michigan, native, Mathews' hat trick is the seventh in program history, the third in Big Ten play and the first in a conference road match. Her three goals tied the program record, and she now has four career goals, all in a three-game span. The hat trick is the second by a Boilermaker this season, as Griffith also achieved the feat on August 29, and Purdue has multiple hat tricks in the same year for the first time.
Mathews is the third Boilermaker to earn Big Ten weekly accolades this season, joining Griffith and sophomore defender Nicole Kevdzija, who both were recognized on August 31.
LAST TIME OUT: BIG TEN-OPENING WIN
A hat trick by Mathews and six fantastic saves by Bova led Purdue to a 3-1 win at Nebraska to begin Big Ten play on Sunday.
Mathews' first goal came in the 16th minute, but Nebraska quickly answered to even the match at 1-1 less than two minutes later. Mathews scored her second in the 71st minute to give the Boilermakers the lead back, and she netted her third on a breakaway in the 90th minute to complete the hat trick. Her second goal also was her second career game-winner. Meanwhile, Bova made six saves, including one in the 57th minute that was named the No. 6 play on ESPN's Top 10 Plays on Sports Center later that night.
The Boilermakers had an 18-13 advantage in shots and a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Mathews had a team-high five shots, four on goal. Dunaway and senior midfielder Grace Walsh earned assists on Mathews' first goal and Griffith and senior forward Sydney Duarte collected the assists on the second. Her third goal was unassisted.
A complete recap from the match, including box score, postgame comments from coach Drew Roff and highlights, can be found at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS
Purdue is 9-13-3 all-time against Illinois and 1-10 in Champaign. The Boilermakers have lost two in a row in the series, both away from West Lafayette, which snapped a three-game win streak. Since 2013, Purdue is 4-3-0 against the Fighting Illini.
Last season, Purdue suffered a 1-0 loss to Illinois on February 18. The Boilermakers had a 12-8 advantage in shots, and Bova made six saves, but the Fighting Illini found the lone goal in the 81st minute. In her first collegiate match, Kevdzija led the team with three shots, one on goal, and Griffith had two shots. The match, a U of I home game played indoors at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana, began the 2020 campaign, which was contested in the spring of 2021.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 4-4-0 following a 2-1 loss in double overtime at No. 21 Michigan to open Big Ten play on September 17. The loss snapped a two-match win streak, with victories at Bowling Green and Toledo. The Fighting Illini also own wins at Missouri and Illinois State, but they are 0-3-0 at home.
U of I leads the Big Ten with 5.25 saves per game, and the Fighting Illini are second with 19 goals and third with 6.38 points per game. Individually, goalkeeper Julia Cili is third in the Big Ten with 4.60 saves per match, while Sydney Stephens is fourth with five assists. Goalkeeper Naomi Jackson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after she made 13 saves on Friday vs. Michigan.
UP NEXT: BACK HOME SUNDAY
The Boilermakers return home to host Iowa on Sunday, September 26, with kickoff at Folk Field set for 1 p.m. ET. Admission is free for all fans to every regular-season home matches in 2021. Sunday is the culminating event of the annual Reunion Weekend, and Purdue soccer alumnae can visit https://boile.rs/SOCReunion21 to RSVP and register.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The match will be broadcast live on B1G+ and live stats are available at FightingIllini.com. Additional updates also can be found by following @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, while direct links to follow along are available on the schedule page at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
The Boilermakers enter the midweek matchup with a 6-1-2 record, their best start to a season since 2007. Purdue has won four in a row and six of its last seven contests, and the team opened the Big Ten slate with a road win for the first time since 2017.
Seventeen players have earned at least a point and 15 have at least one assist, both the most in the Big Ten. Nine Boilermakers have scored a goal, tied for fourth-most in the conference. Purdue boasts an 18-7 advantage in goal differential, including 12-3 in the second half.
Through nine matches, the Boilermakers are second in the Big Ten with 5.00 saves per match and third with 18 goals, 21 assists, 57 points and an .865 save percentage. Individually, senior goalkeeper Marisa Bova leads the conference and is No. 19 nationally with 850:00 minutes played, and she also leads the league with 45 saves and is No. 4 with an .865 save percentage. Senior forward Sarah Griffith is third in the Big Ten with 4.12 shots per game and fifth in goals (5) and shots on goal per game (1.75). Sophomore midfielder Emily Mathews is sixth in game-winning goals (2).
Griffith also leads the team with 11 points, and Mathews is second with 10 points. Freshman forward Gracie Dunaway has a squad-best four assists and is third with six points. Bova has played every minute in goal and has allowed seven goals for a 0.74 goals-against average. She has six wins with two shutouts.
The Fighting Illini are 4-4-0 and 0-1-0 in the Big Ten following a 2-1, double-overtime loss at No. 21 Michigan on Friday.
MATHEWS EARNS WEEKLY ACCOLADES
After she scored a hat trick in Purdue's victory at Nebraska, Mathews was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week and to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week on Tuesday. Both the Big Ten and TDS honors are the first of her career.
A Macomb, Michigan, native, Mathews' hat trick is the seventh in program history, the third in Big Ten play and the first in a conference road match. Her three goals tied the program record, and she now has four career goals, all in a three-game span. The hat trick is the second by a Boilermaker this season, as Griffith also achieved the feat on August 29, and Purdue has multiple hat tricks in the same year for the first time.
Mathews is the third Boilermaker to earn Big Ten weekly accolades this season, joining Griffith and sophomore defender Nicole Kevdzija, who both were recognized on August 31.
LAST TIME OUT: BIG TEN-OPENING WIN
A hat trick by Mathews and six fantastic saves by Bova led Purdue to a 3-1 win at Nebraska to begin Big Ten play on Sunday.
Mathews' first goal came in the 16th minute, but Nebraska quickly answered to even the match at 1-1 less than two minutes later. Mathews scored her second in the 71st minute to give the Boilermakers the lead back, and she netted her third on a breakaway in the 90th minute to complete the hat trick. Her second goal also was her second career game-winner. Meanwhile, Bova made six saves, including one in the 57th minute that was named the No. 6 play on ESPN's Top 10 Plays on Sports Center later that night.
The Boilermakers had an 18-13 advantage in shots and a 7-6 edge in shots on goal. Mathews had a team-high five shots, four on goal. Dunaway and senior midfielder Grace Walsh earned assists on Mathews' first goal and Griffith and senior forward Sydney Duarte collected the assists on the second. Her third goal was unassisted.
A complete recap from the match, including box score, postgame comments from coach Drew Roff and highlights, can be found at PurdueSports.com/Soccer.
SERIES HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS
Purdue is 9-13-3 all-time against Illinois and 1-10 in Champaign. The Boilermakers have lost two in a row in the series, both away from West Lafayette, which snapped a three-game win streak. Since 2013, Purdue is 4-3-0 against the Fighting Illini.
Last season, Purdue suffered a 1-0 loss to Illinois on February 18. The Boilermakers had a 12-8 advantage in shots, and Bova made six saves, but the Fighting Illini found the lone goal in the 81st minute. In her first collegiate match, Kevdzija led the team with three shots, one on goal, and Griffith had two shots. The match, a U of I home game played indoors at the Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana, began the 2020 campaign, which was contested in the spring of 2021.
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Illinois is 4-4-0 following a 2-1 loss in double overtime at No. 21 Michigan to open Big Ten play on September 17. The loss snapped a two-match win streak, with victories at Bowling Green and Toledo. The Fighting Illini also own wins at Missouri and Illinois State, but they are 0-3-0 at home.
U of I leads the Big Ten with 5.25 saves per game, and the Fighting Illini are second with 19 goals and third with 6.38 points per game. Individually, goalkeeper Julia Cili is third in the Big Ten with 4.60 saves per match, while Sydney Stephens is fourth with five assists. Goalkeeper Naomi Jackson was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Tuesday after she made 13 saves on Friday vs. Michigan.
UP NEXT: BACK HOME SUNDAY
The Boilermakers return home to host Iowa on Sunday, September 26, with kickoff at Folk Field set for 1 p.m. ET. Admission is free for all fans to every regular-season home matches in 2021. Sunday is the culminating event of the annual Reunion Weekend, and Purdue soccer alumnae can visit https://boile.rs/SOCReunion21 to RSVP and register.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.