It’s not surprising that a match between the teams picked 10th and 11th in the Big Ten preseason poll would be close, particularly at a neutral site like the indoor facility at Westfield, IN’s Great Park. What is surprising is that a defense that is almost entirely new and a goalkeeper who has played less than 15 minutes total in her career would put up a clean sheet.
Both defenses came to play in the first half. Neither side could really find any muster in their attack early. A promising attack for the Boilermakers was halted by an offside call in the 17th minute.