Miami Ohio University Athletics
RedHawks Test Mettle in Exhibition at Purdue on Friday
8/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
OXFORD, Ohio -- With a week of training under its belt, the Miami soccer team sets foot on the pitch for its first competition of the year on Friday afternoon.
The RedHawks head to West Lafayette, Ind., for an exhibition contest against the Purdue Boilermakers. Friday's friendly starts at 5 p.m.
This trip is a bit of déjàvu for the Red and White as their 2014 regular season began in the same spot. The RedHawks opened the year with a 1-0 victory over the Boilermakers, which spurred them to a Boilermaker Cup title after a pair of season-opening shutouts.
Purdue began its exhibition slate on Tuesday with a trip to Wisconsin, where it outshot Milwaukee 17-5 on its way to a 4-0 victory. Maddy Williams, PU's top scorer a year ago, tallied a hat trick in the first 21:44.
The Boilermakers went 6-11-2 while posting a 2-10-1 record in the Big Ten Conference a year ago. MU's 1-0 win at Purdue in the season opener was PU's lone non-conference loss that season. Williams, who posted the hat trick in Purdue's 4-0 exhibition win on Tuesday, led the Boilermakers with 18 points on six goals and six assists a year ago.
Miami returns nine starters from its 2014 squad that went 14-3-2 with an 8-2-1 record in the Mid-American Conference. While the group did lose First-Team All-MAC performers Kelsey Dinges and Courtney Zanotti to graduation, 16 letter winners in total return. The returners Include Second-Team All-MAC pick and 2012 MAC Freshman of the Year Haley Walter, the 2015 team captain, along with MAC All-Freshman Team selections Kat Zalar and Maggie Scott.
The Red and White have been immensely successful over the past three seasons as the four-player senior class of Walter, Lauren Kelly, Jess Bronke and Katie Mazurek holds a combined record of 45-12-7 with a 25-3-5 mark in MAC play during that span (29-3-7 including the MAC Tournament). Miami soccer also enters the season with 199 all-time victories, holding a 199-136-28 record.
Friday's contest is Miami's lone exhibition of the 2015 season. Fans can follow the score live on via Purdue Athletics.
