WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue hosts a pair of ranked Michigan teams this week, taking on No. 21 Michigan on Thursday before the No. 2 Spartans of Michigan State on Sunday.
Purdue heads into the week carrying its first TopDrawer Soccer national ranking since the 2021 season, at No. 25 in this week’s poll. The Boilers are on pace for their best season since 2021 as Jaiden Anderson is just five goals away from Sarah Griffith’s 16-goal season record.
After a dominant opening to the season, the Boilers still lead the country in goals, goal differential, and assists.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Michigan Wolverines are having a successful season under a first-year head coach, who spent a long tenure with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Michigan is 5-3-3 on the season with an impressive 1-1 draw against No. 25 Notre Dame and a monumental win over Michigan State when the Spartans were the top program in the country.
Michigan State has been in the polls the entire season and has never ranked lower than No. 5, including spending a week as the No. 1 team in the country, and three consecutive weeks at No. 2. The Spartans are 9-1-2 on the season and are 4-1-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan State has earned top victories over Xavier, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 12 Colorado, No. 16 UCLA, and No. 18 Washington.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue and Michigan have faced one another 23 times in their histories with the Wolverines leading the record 15-4-4. Purdue has lost the last five matchups, the most recent being a 2-0 loss in Ann Arbor. In their first matchup, the Wolverines defeated Purdue 4-1 also in Ann Arbor back in 1999.
Michigan State leads the record over Purdue 12-10-2. The Boilers have lost back-to-back matchups against the Spartans, the last time being in 2024 in East Lansing. The Boilers also lost the first-ever matchup between the teams during the inaugural 1998 season, falling 3-0.
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.