New Era to Begin with BGR Season Opener vs. Washington State
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A new era of Purdue Soccer begins on Thursday, August 15, at 7 p.m. ET, against Washington State at Folk Field.
Admission is free for all fans to the fourth annual Boiler Gold Rush season kickoff game. The first 2,000 students will receive free Purdue Soccer thunder sticks. The program attendance record has been broken in each of the first three BGR games, with fans encircling Folk Field to create an unmatched home field advantage in support of the Boilermakers.
Thursday’s season-opening Boiler Gold Rush game comes after a program-record crowd of 4,096 cheered on the Boilermakers at the 2023 BGR contest against No. 24 UCF. The tradition began with a then-record crowd of 2,125 in 2021. In 2022, the attendance record was broken again as 3,296 fans streamed through the Folk Field gates and saw Purdue upset No. 15 USC, 3-0.
Purdue’s 2024 roster features three fifth-years, seven seniors, three juniors, two redshirt sophomores, five sophomores, one redshirt freshman and six freshmen. Ten are defenders, seven are forwards, seven are midfielders and three are goalkeepers. Twelve states are represented, including four from Illinois and two from Indiana. Boilermakers hail from five countries outside of the United States, with three from Canada.
Seven starters are back from a season ago, including five of the team’s top seven goal scorers and six of the eight top point-earners from 2023.
The 2024 season marks the beginning of first-year head coach Richard Moodie’s tenure. Named the third head coach in program history, Moodie takes the helm after a highly successful seven-year stint at South Alabama. More about the Stenhousemuir, Scotland, native can be found here.
This is the 27th season of Purdue Soccer and the team’s 26th in the Big Ten after a non-conference-only inaugural year in 1998.
SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
The Boilermakers are 16-8-2 all-time in season-openers, including 9-3-1 since 2015. Purdue has opened the year at home in all but four seasons, in 2002, 2008, 2011 and 2020-21. In home openers, the Old Gold and Black sport a 17-7-2 mark.
RECORD-BREAKING CROWDS
The Boilermaker faithful have helped break multiple attendance records the last three years at Folk Field. The single-game mark of 4,096 was set to begin the 2023 season, topping the previous record of 3,296 to open the 2022 campaign. That bested what is now No. 3 on the list, 2,125 that began the 2021 season. All three attendance totals easily passed what is now fourth all-time, 1,712 set in 2016.
Additionally, the average attendance record has been broken each of the last three seasons. Purdue averaged 888 fans in 2023, a new record that topped 822 in 2022 and 737 in 2021. A total of 9,773 fans came to Folk Field in 2023, which surpassed the previous record of 9,578 set in 2021. Also in 2021, Purdue had two home games with at least 1,000 fans, the first time that accomplishment had ever been achieved.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
Washington State went 9-6-4 a season ago with a 2-5-4 record in the Pac-12. The Cougars opened the year with five consecutive wins, including two on the road. Outside of Pullman, Washington, WSU was 3-2-3. Washington State posted a 0-3-0 record against top-25 opponents, all at home in back-to-back-to-back contests. Two were against top-five foes, a 1-0 defeat to No. 2 Stanford and a 2-0 loss to No. 5 UCLA.
SERIES HISTORY VS. THE COUGARS
The Boilermakers have never played Washington State. Purdue is 2-2-1 all-time against programs from the Evergreen State, going 1-0-0 against Gonzaga, 1-1-0 against Washington and 0-1-1 against Seattle. The most recent matchup was a 1-0 win over Gonzaga on August 26, 2021.
UP NEXT: IN-STATE FOE ON THE ROAD
The opening weekend continues on Sunday, August 18, with a short trip south to face Butler in Indianapolis. Kickoff between the two in-state foes is set for 7 p.m. ET. Purdue returns home to face Loyola Chicago on Thursday, August 22, at 7 p.m. Kickoff is free for all fans to that contest and each regular-season home game at Folk Field.
BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Senior defender Sydney Boudreau, senior forward Gracie Dunaway and junior forward Kayla Budish have been named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List. Dunaway also was recognized on the league’s preseason list in both 2022 and 2023, and Budish was honored in 2023.
Budish and Dunaway both scored a team-high-tying three goals last season, and Budish added two assists to finish second on the team with eight points. Boudreau was a key part of the Boilermakers’ back line and logged 1,213 minutes. All three played in at least 15 of Purdue’s 18 contests, with 13 or more starts.
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.
– #BoilerUp –