WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers (No. 3 seed) will host the Big Ten Tournament Championship match against the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans (No. 4 seed) at Folk Field on Friday, November 13.
After defeating No. 21 Penn State in overtime 2-1 in the quarterfinals, and advancing on penalty shootout against Wisconsin in the semifinals, Purdue was left as the highest remaining seed in the highly-competitive Big Ten Tournament, earning the right to host the championship on their home pitch.
Irene Campo has led the Boilermaker offense throughout the tournament, scoring three of the team’s four total goals in the first two rounds. Jaiden Anderson also found the back of the net during the tournament, continuing her award-winning campaign.
Grace Miller has played every minute of the tournament in goal for Purdue, registering five saves across both matches, including knocking away two of Wisconsin’s penalty kicks to help clinch the semifinal victory.
This is the second time Purdue will be a part of the Big Ten Tournament Championship in program history, with the only other time coming in 2007. Purdue will look to remain perfect in conference championship games, as the 2007 match marked a 3-1 victory over Ohio State in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Purdue is now 16-2-3 overall this year, with a historic 9-2-1 Big Ten record, looking to earn their fourth ranked victory of the year in front of a home crowd in the conference tournament final.
The championship match will be played at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana at 6:00 p.m. est on Friday, Nov. 13 and available for streaming on the Big Ten Network. Folk Field will be a great environment for high-level soccer, as tickets for the match are sold out.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The No. 3 (No. 4 seed) Michigan State Spartans have been one of the best teams in both the Big Ten and the nation all year, never dropping out of the Top-10 in the IWSOC weekly polls. The Spartans post a 15-3-2 overall record, with a 9-3-0 record in Big Ten play.
Michigan State has played well against ranked opponents this year, defeating No. 6 North Carolina, No. 12 Colorado, No. 16 UCLA, and taking down a ranked Washington-team both in the regular season and in this tournament. To reach the final, Michigan State took down the No. 20 Washington Huskies 3-2 in overtime in the quarterfinal, along with their in-state rival the Michigan Wolverines 1-0 this past Sunday.
Forward Kennedy Bell has led the Spartan offense this year, recording eight goals, 11 assists, and 58 shots on goals. Noelle Henning and Bella Schopp have teamed up in goal for Michigan State all year, saving a combined 49 balls.
SERIES HISTORY
Michigan State leads the record over Purdue 12-11-2. Earlier this year, the Boilers defeated the then-No. 2 Spartans for one of the biggest upsets in program history, 2-1 style at Folk Field. In that victory, Emilia Deppe and Irene Campo both snuck past the Spartan keeper to find the back of the net. Grace Miller played all 90 minutes in goal for the Boilers, making six saves and only allowing one goal from the Spartans.
Prior to the October victory, the Boilers had 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.
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