WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue enters its second week of non-conference play, with a win and a draw under its belt, heading into matches with Chicago State and Eastern Illinois.
The Boilers will take on the Cougars of Chicago State on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. est, for the annual Boiler Gold Rush match. The match is a tradition for freshman students at orientation to attend and is known for setting attendance records with the program’s highest at 4,096 back in 2023.
The Boilers will then take on Eastern Illinois on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. est.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
In 2025, the Cougars went 5-9-5 and 3-6-2 in the NEC. Chicago State earned victories over PFW, Hampton, Howard, New Haven, and Saint Francis. In the 2026 season so far, the Cougars have played one match, falling to UT Martin 4-0. Chicago State is yet to score a goal this season, but earned 19 during the 2025 season.
Eastern Illinois and Purdue have the same record in 2026 at 1-0-1. The Panthers defeated Valparaiso 2-0 to open the season, and have yet to concede a goal after a scoreless draw with UIC. In 2025, Eastern Illinois went 8-8-5 on the season with a 5-3-1 conference record, but was eliminated in the first round of the OVC tournament.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue has never faced Chicago State in its history, and the Cougars have only had a program since 2014.
Purdue and Eastern Illinois have played four times in their histories with Purdue leading 3-0-1, and the first match dating back to Sept. 26, 1996 (W, 5-2). The most recent matchup was in 2012, where Purdue took the 2-1 victory in overtime. In 2002, the teams met in South Bend, Ind. for an NCAA tournament matchup, Purdue won 3-1 in PK’s after finishing 1-1 in regulation time.
PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE
This week’s matches will include the Boiler Gold Rush game presented by the Standard and Indiana Packers on Thursday, and the second Kids Clubs Game on Sunday, as well as Youth Soccer Day.
For more on the Purdue soccer team, visit PurdueSports.com/Soccer and follow and connect with the Boilermakers at @PurdueSoccer on Twitter/X, Instagram and Facebook.