| EASTERN ILLINOIS at PURDUE (schedule addition) |
| Game Details | 10 a.m. | Sat., Oct. 25, 2014 | in West Lafayette, Ind. |
| Match Coverage | Twitter | Facebook |
| EIU info (NCAA I) | Website | 1-4 Overall |
| PU info | Website | Record Unavailable |
CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Eastern Illinois women's rugby has added a road match to the squad's 2014 schedule, as the Panthers will now travel to West Lafayette, Ind., to face the Boilermakers of Purdue at 10 a.m. this coming Saturday (Oct. 25) morning.
Heading into the matchup, the Panthers own a 1-4 overall record, as Eastern will look to snap a two-match losing streak following recent road losses to Life and Quinnipiac.
HEAD COACH FRANK GRAZIANO
Now in his 16th year, Graziano owns a 121-31 overall mark, which includes a 4-5 record versus fellow NCAA certified varsity opponents. EIU sports a 128-32 all-time program record, while enjoying a 103-19 mark since becoming the premiere certified NCAA Division I varsity squad back in 2002.
QUOTING COACH GRAZIANO
"This is definitely a very winnable game... in watching practices this week and our performance in the first half last week at QU, I think we are right on the cusp of breaking out and having that really good game... even though the second half at Quinnipiac last Saturday wasn't very good scoring-wise, there were still some positives as our players played brilliantly for short spurts of time... seems like we are just about ready to go out and succeed, but that mentality and execution isn't quite showing up yet on game day... the girls have done a great job of taking care of their bodies and our athletic training staff has been fantastic as always... our confidence hasn't wained as we continue to have had very positive practices... I'm ready for them to break out and play to their fullest potential."
ALL-TIME EIU/PU SERIES
Panthers own a perfect 7-0 all-time series lead over Purdue, but the two squads have not met since the 2011 season when Eastern ran away with a 106-0 home victory. Saturday's contest with mark the fifth time that the two Midwest foes will have met over in West Lafayette. Previously Panther road wins at Purdue have included the following routs -- 75-5 (2010), 100-0 (2009), 67-10 (2006), and 67-0 (spring of 2001).
QUICK LOOK AT THE PANTHER LEADERS
Eight different Panthers have each scampered for at least one try this season, while freshman Lacey Viano sports a pair of trys to pace her squad this fall.
Point-wise, junior Hannah Vieth's 17 points leads all Panthers as she has one try, three two-point conversions and also a pair of three-point penalty kicks to her name. Viano naturally follows with ten points via her two five point scores. Senior Carissa Burge continues to run the offense with a team-best four assists
Defensively, freshman Jessica Maricich leads with 50 solo tackles, and has added 15 assisted stops and four steals-at-tackle. Burge and senior Kim Youhas follow with 35 and 34 solo stops, respectively, while Burge also owns 19 assisted tackles to lead her squad. Team-wise EIU has earned 293 total solo tackles and 164 assisted stops.
WEATHER PREDICTIONS
According to weather.com, there's only a 10% chance of precipitation for tomorrow's contest, while partly cloudy skies and high temps in the lower 70s is also expected.
PANTHERS FALL AT FELLOW NCAA DI RIVAL QUINNIPIAC
Last Saturday, EIU fell on the road to fellow NCAA Division I rival Quinnipiac, 64-8, as Vieth accounted for all the Panther points on the day. The junior scampered for the lone EIU try early in the first half, while also adding a three-point penalty kick late in the game. Sara Fisher earned her first assist of the day as she fed Vieth for the first half score.
Vieth's try tied the game at five-all nearly seven minutes into the contest, but the host squad would enjoy the 12-5 halftime lead with a try and conversion of their own 22 minutes later. But the second half went entirely Quinnipiac's way as the Bobcats erupted for eight consecutive scores, including six conversions.
Defensively, Maricich continued her fine play with 19 solo tackles and three steals, while Burge added 14 stops of her own.
With the loss, the all-time series history between the pair of foes now evens to three-all, as the Bobcats have earned three consecutive victories over the Panthers.
SCHEDULE UPDATES
The Panthers hope to continue to add to their fall slate, as three additional tentative contests are on the schedule. On November 1, the Panthers hope to travel to Northern Illinois, followed by a road swing to Notre Dame the following week on Nov. 8. Then on either Nov. 15 or 16, the Panthers look to reschedule a home rematch versus Life in order to hold a senior day contest at Lakeside Field.
... for more info, contact Bart Rettberg, Asst. SID
