FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Purdue Fort Wayne women’s soccer team will look to get back above .500 when the Mastodons visit Toledo on Thursday (Aug. 25) for a 7 pm contest.
Game Day Information
Who: Toledo Rockets
When: Thursday, August 25 | 7 p.m
Where: Toledo, Ohio | Paul Hotmer Field
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Match Notes: Purdue Fort Wayne
Know Your Foe
Toledo is 0-1-1 coming into its match with the Mastodons. The Rockets picked up a 2-2 draw with Dayton but fell to Illinois 4-1. Ashton Cassel, Sissy Novak and Morgan Otteson have one goal each. Emma Boutorwick and Karson Hill have split time in goal, playing one game each.
Series History
Toledo owns a 5-1-1 lead in the series against Purdue Fort Wayne. The Mastodons’ only win against the Rockets came in double-overtime in 2003. The two squads tied 0-0 last season in Fort Wayne.
Brick Wall Castaneda
Samantha Castaneda owns a 1.34 career goals against average, which is the best in program history among those who played at least 750 minutes in the net. Her mark of 1.35 GAA in 2021 was the second-best for a season-long average to Sam Pavlika’s 1.07 in 2012.
Mack to the Max!
Mackenzie Evans had two goals and an assist in the Mastodons’ regular season opener against Chicago State. Her five points tied for the ninth-most in a single game in program history.
She’s Been Around
Gabrielle Fanning is in her sixth year of college soccer, playing her first season in 2017. With a redshirt campaign in 2018 and the extra year due to the blanket COVID-19 waiver, Fanning is the only student-athlete at Purdue Fort Wayne of any sport to be playing her sixth year with the Mastodons. She is also the only current student-athlete to play under the “Fort Wayne” athletics branding, thus the only one to play in blue and white uniforms. She has played in 64 games as a Mastodon, with 61 starts, and has a chance to become the all-time career leader in both categories.
Be Aware!
In the newest rule changes from the NCAA, overtime will no longer be played in the regular season. Overtime will only be played in postseason games, and will no longer be a golden goal, meaning both 10-minute overtime periods will be played to completion.
Roster Reset
Purdue Fort Wayne’s roster consists of 17 players who have played at least two full seasons of college soccer. There are 10 seniors, seven juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen. Last season, the Mastodons were led by three All-Horizon League selections: Morgan Reitano (First Team), Gabrielle Fanning (Second Team) and Bella Reitano (All-Freshman Team). The Mastodons return 10 players who started in at least half of last season’s games.
Meet The Freshmen
Purdue Fort Wayne has three freshmen on its roster this season: Lauren Klusek, Chloe Mariotti and Lauryn Brucchieri. Klusek was a top-10 goal-scorer in the US Development Academy in the 2018-19 season, Mariotti was a two-time All-Conference pick at Yorktown High School, and Brucchieri was a three-time All-Conference Honorable Mention.
Last Time Out
Eastern Illinois topped the Mastodons 2-0 thanks to two goals in less than two minutes. The ‘Dons had 22 shots, which was their most since the two teams met in 2021. Morgan Reitano and Marisa Metzger had four shots each.
Coming Up
Purdue Fort Wayne is set for a home game against Bellarmine on August 28 at 3 PM. The two teams tied 0-0 in 2021 after 110 minutes of play.
~ Feel the Rumble ~