Purdue proved what its made of against Alabama

Purdue’s unbeaten-at-home streak came to an end Thursday night, as the No. 22 Alabama Crimson Tide outlasted the Boilermakers in a 1-0 thriller.

Purdue (4-2-1), yet to lose at Folk Field this season after four games, hosted No. 22 Alabama (6-1-0) Thursday night, as well as a section of the “All-American" Marching Band, the Big Bass Drum and the Boilermaker Xtra-Special.

Very little separated the two sides throughout the 90 minutes, but the Boilers’ best chance glanced off the crossbar and Alabama’s found the back of the net.

“That was a tough game,” said Alabama Soccer Head Coach Wes Hart. “They gave us everything we could handle, certainly no easy game.”

Despite the outcome, such a contested match against a top-25 opponent puts plenty of momentum behind the Boilers as they prepare for Big Ten play.

“I thought we looked really good. There's not much difference between the two (teams) tonight I don't think,” said Purdue Soccer Head Coach Richard Moodie.

“I mean, they were running to the corners in the last few minutes.”

Here are three takeaways from Purdue’s 1-0 loss to Alabama:

Too little, too late

Purdue started their first game against a top-25 opponent on the back foot, but not far in, they found their footing and settled in for a game that would ultimately be decided by inches.

The Boilers played their brand of soccer that has brought them success so far, finding wide open spaces on the wings and whipping crosses into the back post while mounting as much off-ball pressure as their shape allowed.

In just the sixth minute, senior defender Sydney Boudreau used every inch of the right wing, dribbling past her defender and sending a cross to the back post just as the ball approached the byline.

The cross was just too high for its intended recipient, but proved to everyone at Folk Field that the Tide too was vulnerable.

The best chance by either team in the first half was cleared off the line by Gracie Dunaway a few minutes later, and both teams headed into halftime knotted at 0-0.

The Tide outshot Purdue 9-6 in the first half, forcing five saves from sophomore goalkeeper Emily Edwards.

The Boiler’s didn’t manage a shot on goal until the 79th minute of Thursday’s loss, when senior midfielder Lauren Meeks lifted a shot over a crowded 18-yard box that forced a heroic save attempt from Alabama’s keeper and still went on to hit the crossbar.

Lexi Fraley’s attempt in the 83rd minute was well saved by the Alabama keeper, and was Purdue’s second and final shot on goal of the contest.

Though the Tide kept a clean sheet, Purdue gave Alabama plenty to worry about throughout the match, forcing them into time-wasting tactics as time winded down.

“It's not the result we'd like to come off going into the Northwestern game, but we're starting in a good place,” Moodie said. "We played good tonight, we fought hard, and we should be confident.”

Bring on the Big Ten:

Purdue finishes non-conference play with a 4-2-1 record, outscoring opponents 12-3 in the final five games.

The Boilers hit the road soon, bound for Evanston, Illinois, to face their first Big Ten opponent of the season at Northwestern on Sept. 12.

A week later, Purdue hosts Big Ten newcomer USC at Folk Field for the first in-conference home game.

The now 18-team Big Ten conference sports a number of ranked soccer programs, including No. 8 Penn State, No. 9 UCLA, No. 17 Ohio State and No. 22 Iowa.

“I'm really proud of the girls in the performance,” Moodie said.

“But I do think they need to be disappointed, because we need to learn how to win these big games.”

Drum, band and train in attendance:

A fraction of Purdue’s “All-American” Marching Band took over the away bleachers at Folk Field Thursday night, accompanied by the world’s largest drum.

The band provided fans, coaches and players with free music throughout the match. Thursday’s track list included "Blinding Lights," "Love Story," "Country Roads," "Hot to Go!," "Crazy Train" and many more hits.

“Our band is unbelievable, and they never stopped from minute one to 90 minutes, great atmosphere,” said Head Coach Moodie post-game.

If the band and drum weren’t enough to distract from the main event, the Boilermaker Xtra-Special made a rare appearance to Folk Field.

The Xtra-Special is a smaller version of Purdue’s locomotive mascot, made to fit in less accessible venues that the Boilermaker Special can’t.

The Xtra parked itself alongside the Boiler Ultras, Purdue Soccer’s student section, and whistled along to select songs featured by the band.

“To be honest, I was annoyed, we need to start doing that,” Hart said.

“It helps (Purdue) because it's hard for me to get coaching points out there, it's hard for players to communicate with each other. Your fans were fantastic tonight.”