The 2017 schedule has given the IU women’s soccer team zero favors.
After seven consecutive games on the road, the 5-4-1 Hoosiers won’t have an easy first game back at Bill Armstrong Stadium as they take on the 7-2 Purdue Boilermakers at 7:30 p.m. Saturday night in the battle for the Golden Boot.
“I just hope for a good game,” junior forward Mykayla Brown said. “The emotions are always high. I’m just ready for the fans and the atmosphere.”
Despite a 4-13-4 all-time record against the Boilermakers, IU has won three of the past five matchups. Last year's meeting was a 2-2 draw in West Lafayette, Indiana, after Brown recorded both goals for the Hoosiers.
This will be the first time the rivals have met so early in the season, but Saturday's game feels like a bigger game than normal being this early in conference play.
“I think we’ve been improving every week and I know that our team will give a 100-percent effort,” IU Coach Amy Berbary said. “We’ll get our chances. This is a very emotional game for both sides, and I think it’ll become a huge part on who is disciplined enough to bottle in those emotions and be able to execute to get the job done.”
Purdue already has three more overall wins this season than last year.
The Boilermakers are led by senior forward Maddy Williams, who leads the conference with eight goals, seven assists and 23 points. The Boilermakers defeated Michigan State last game 6-2 behind two goals from Williams.
“They are relentless in the attack so we need to make sure we keep our lines tight, we have good individual defending, and I think the biggest key of the game for us is when we win the ball, keeping it,” Berbary said.
The key matchup will be the IU defense against the Purdue offense. IU has been able to shutout four opponents, and the Boilermakers have scored at least a single goal in each match.
If the Hoosiers can hold Purdue to less than three goals, they’ll be in good position to secure the victory.
“We’ve grown a lot in a ton of different styles of play, we’ve had some good games, we’ve had some not so good games but I think we are ready for this one on Saturday,” Berbary said.
