Sept. 25, 2013
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The eighth-ranked Penn State women's soccer team will host Big Ten adversary Purdue on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. for Mack Brady Night. The Nittany Lions have posted a commanding 12-1-1 record against the Boilermakers all-time.
Thursday night's match honors the life of the late Mack Brady, an avid Penn State soccer fan who passed away unexpectedly on Dec. 31, 2012 at the age of eight. Mack's parents, Christian and Elizabeth Brady, created the "Mack Brady Memorial Men's Soccer Fund at Penn State," which provides an endowment to Nittany Lion goalkeepers for recruitment, equipment, scholarships and other needs. The fund has raised over $140,000 since its inception nine months ago.
White Mack Brady t-shirts and Mack Brady magnets will be sold and a raffle for various Penn State Athletics and U.S. Men's National Team memorabilia will take place at the match. All proceeds will benefit Mack's endowment. Fans are encouraged to wear white and are reminded that there is a no bag policy in place on stadium grounds.
The Blue and White (7-1-1, 1-0-0 Big Ten) have won their last six contests and most recently defeated Northwestern, 3-2, in double overtime to open up the conference slate. PSU trailed 0-2 with just over 10 minutes remaining in regulation until junior defender Whitney Church (Ashburn, Va.) put the Lions on the board at the 79:31 mark. Senior Maya Hayes (West Orange, N.J.) scored the equalizer just four minutes later to send the match into overtime and Church cemented the win for Penn State as she fired one in with just over three minutes remaining in the second overtime period.
Hayes ranks first on the team and in the conference in goals (10), goals per game (1.11), points (23) and points per game (2.56) while sophomore Raquel Rodriguez leads the Blue and White and is tied for third in the league in assists with six this season. Keeper Britt Eckerstrom has started every game in goal for the Lions and has collected the second most saves in the conference (41).
The Boilermakers enter Thursday's contest with an overall record of 5-3-1 and are 0-1-0 in Big Ten play after falling to Wisconsin last Sunday in their conference opener. Junior Alex Hairston scored the lone goal for Purdue as the Boilermakers fell to the Badgers, 3-1.
Purdue is led by freshman Maddy Williams and senior Hadley Stuart. Williams has posted six goals and five assists for the Boilermakers and Stuart has tallied five goals and eight assists. Hairston has also performed well this season, notching five goals and six assists.
Penn State blanked Purdue, 2-0, on Oct. 26 of last year in the most recent match-up between the two squads. The Nittany Lions' only loss to the Boilermakers came on Sept. 26, 2003 when Purdue overpowered the Blue and White 3-1.
PSU will host conference foe Indiana on Sunday afternoon for the "Kick for the Cure Pink Game." The match is set for a noon start at Jeffrey Field.