WOMEN’S SOCCER CLOSES OUT HOMESTAND VERSUS NEBRASKA & IOWA
WEST
LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue women’s soccer closes out its eight-game
homestand this weekend, welcoming Nebraska and Iowa to the Varsity
Soccer Complex for the first-ever Big Ten game with the Huskers and a
Big Ten Network-televised match with the Hawkeyes.
Friday’s game
with Nebraska (4-3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff as the
first Big Ten night game at the Varsity Soccer Complex. Across all
sports, it will be the first Purdue-Nebraska game with the Huskers
being a member of the Big Ten Conference.
Sunday’s game with
Iowa (8-0-1, 0-0-1 Big Ten) is slated for a 2 p.m. kickoff to
accommodate the BTN’s live coverage. Dating back to 2005, each of the
last three Purdue-Iowa games in West Lafayette has been decided in
overtime.
The Boilermakers (3-6-1, 0-1 Big Ten) have compiled a
2-3-1 record during their program-long homestand, which began Sept. 2
with the first-ever night game, a victory against Colorado, at the
Varsity Soccer Complex. Purdue has outscored its opponents 8-7 during
the homestand. But the Boilers are under the .500 mark during their
extended home stretch primarily because six of those eight goals were
scored in a 2-2 draw with Cal State Northridge and a one-side 4-0 win
against Indiana State.
Alex Hairston and Hadley Stuart both
accounted for a pair of goals last week, Hairston scoring in both
games. Hairston’s second-half equalizer against Michigan State made her
the first Boiler to score in her Big Ten debut since Jessica Stellhorn
in 2007. Stuart recorded her first collegiate score as part of a
two-goal effort in the ISU win. She became the first Boiler since Katie
Seeger in the 2009 season opener to score her first collegiate goal as
part of a multi-goal performance.
Meanwhile, Mollie Kuramoto
setup a goal for both Hairston and Stuart last week. The sophomore
leads the team with four assists, recording a helper in each of the
last three games that Purdue has scored.
Nebraska will be making
its first appearance at the Varsity Soccer Complex since 2005. The
Boilermakers knocked off the nationally-ranked Huskers that season,
2-1. Nebraska won both previous meetings with Purdue in Lincoln.
The
Huskers qualified for 10 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1996 through
2005 but have not been back since, even after posting 13 victories a
year ago in their final season in the Big 12 Conference.
Nebraska
was a 3-1 winner against Nebraska Sunday its inaugural Big Ten game.
Star forward Morgan Marlborough scored all three goals for her second
hat trick of the year. She ranks second in the conference with 12
goals, scoring with more than half of her 21 shots on goal.
Marlborough, Jordan Jackson (6 goals) and Stacy Bartles (4) have teamed
up to account for 22 of the Huskers’ 26 goals.
Defensively, Nebraska has surrendered a goal in eight of its first nine games and multiple goals four times.
Iowa
was picked last in the Big Ten preseason poll but is currently the only
undefeated team in the league. The Hawkeyes squandered a two-goal lead
Sunday in their Big Ten opener against Illinois, settling for a 2-2
draw.
Iowa leads the Big Ten with 31 goals scored and a plus-24
goal differential. The Hawkeyes have scored multiple goals in each of
their nine games. Freshman Cloe Lacasse has made an immediate impact,
leading the way with 10 goals to rank fourth in the Big Ten. The trio
of Leah DeMoss, Katie Nasenberry and Alex Melin has each scored four
times. DeMoss is the granddaughter of Purdue alumnus and former
football coach Bob DeMoss.
The Boilermakers led last year’s game
in Iowa City 2-0 early in the second half. But the Hawkeyes stormed
back and won, scoring twice following corner kicks. Purdue had 12 shots
on goal in the season finale but still lost, suffering its first defeat
in a game in which it registered at least 10 shots on goal since the
beginning of the 2007 season. Iowa goalkeeper Emily Moran is back this
year and leads the Big Ten with a 0.64 goals against average.
The
Boilermakers won the 2009 meeting at the Varsity Soccer Complex on an
own goal in overtime. The golden goal in the 2007 meeting was scored by
Parrissa Eyorokon. Iowa won the 2005 meeting in West Lafayette in
overtime.
Purdue travels to Northwestern and Illinois next weekend for its first Big Ten road trip of the year.
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