WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The No. 16 Purdue Boilermakers begin their journey to a conference tournament title in St. Louis with a top-25 matchup against the No. 21 Penn State Nittany Lions.
In the final Big Ten standings, the matchup will be a No. 6 seed (Penn State) vs. a No. 3 seed (Purdue).
The Boilermakers finished the regular season 15-2-2 overall and 9-2-1 in Big Ten play, marking one of the most historic years for the program. The nine Big Ten victories broke a program record for the Boilers, which included victories over No. 21 Michigan and No. 2 Michigan State, along with taking back the Golden Boot trophy from Indiana.
Jaiden Anderson has led the way for the Boilermakers all year. The junior finished the regular season second in the nation in goals scored with 18 total, leading Purdue to a nation-leading offense, scoring 3.47 goals-per-match. Anderson was named the Big Ten Forward of the Year, along with First Team All-Big Ten honors.
Purdue and Penn State will face-off in the final match of the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 8:00 p.m. est. at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Mo. All quarterfinal matches will be available for streaming on B1G+, with the semifinal and championship rounds streaming on the Big Ten Network.
With a victory, Purdue would face off with the winner of No. 7-seeded Wisconsin vs. No. 2-seeded UCLA on Sunday, Nov. 8 in the semifinals.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Nittany Lions post a 9-3-5 overall record and a 7-2-3 record in Big Ten play. Since the Boilers and Nittany Lions faced off in a 2-2 draw in early October, Penn State went undefeated against unranked programs, while falling on the road to No. 13 Washington, tying with No. 24 Michigan, and claiming victory on the road at No. 5 Michigan State.
Aubrey Kulpha led the Penn State offense all year, finishing the regular-season with eight goals (No. 10 in the Big Ten) with three of those goals coming as game-winners (No. 9 in the Big Ten). As the goalkeeper, Mackenzie Gress has recorded 58 saves, only allowing 13 goals to sneak past, ranking Gress at No. 4 in the conference.
SERIES HISTORY
Purdue and Penn State have faced off 25 times in each program’s history. Penn State has dominated the series, allowing Purdue only one victory and four draws. The lone victory for the Boilers came in the 2003 campaign, in a 3-1 win in West Lafayette. Just over a month ago, the two teams tied in a 2-2 draw at Penn State.
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.