FC Indiana’s first 11v11 outing at Purdue’s sprawling Mollenkopf indoor training facility against a strong NCAA battle tested home side proved not unexpectedly intriguing. While the coordination between the various departments was at best approximate, the play clearly showed that head coach Shek Borkowski and his staff once more assembled a promising and talented group, one easily projected to be very competitive in the upcoming W-League season. A total of seventeen players took the field in a mix of new and returning talents.  The veteran group from the successful 2007 campaign was once more headed by Fatima Leyva and included Jessy Havrilesko, Kristin Luckenbill, Aivi Luik, Corie Moore, and Lauren Sesselmann. The newcomers included Annie Hamel, Jenny Jeffers, Rose Jijana, Laura Kane, Anna Laue, Lauren Mason, Lena Mosebo, Ria Percival, and Veronica Phewa.  Somewhat of a novelty was also former Notre Dame standout Christie Shaner who finally returned to action after successfully resolving her serious knee injury problem. Finally, Jennifer Gaylor, a player who may soon be associated with the team, played quality minutes and returning but injured Julianne Sitch was left hitching on the bench.
The game mostly developed as a tough midfield battle with both teams choosing to crowd the middle of the frivolously lined pitch with the idea of profiting from opponents turnovers. FC Indiana defense was led by a seemingly unbeatable Shaner and only allowed one shot on goal, a ball that tamely bounced into Luckenbill’s capable hands in the second half; the only serious Boilermakers’ threat came from a solid turnaround shot from the inside of the FC Indiana box in the middle of the first half that only found the right side of the goal with Mason seemingly in a good position for a save.
Alongside Shaner, both Jeffers and Moore looked solid, Gaylor showed flashes of attacking full back prowess, and Havrilesko was impeccable in her ball management during her stint in spite of her frame being considerably smaller than the Boilermaker forwards. Midfield play was muddied by the high density of players. As a result both Leyva and Luik had less touches than usual, although the Mexican international still managed to display her great talent for resolving and simplifying chaotic situations by most often finding the open teammates.
On the outside the expected lethal runs did hardly materialize for while Jijana had to share space with Kane, Mosebo, while providing a number of good crosses from the left side, was hardly fed into space at the right time. It was in this position that young Percival made her mark with steady rain of often surgically precise changes of the point of attack during the second half, remarkably doing this in spite of the fact of having to play upside down. As a whole, the midfield players did not offend much and were demure in looking for outside shots, something that the bouncy pitch and Purdue’s aggressive press obviously influenced. In the offensive line while former Purdue great Sesselman had a hard time getting away from the special attentions of a naturally worried Boilermaker defenders and only once managed to discharge a broadside from her powerful left foot, Kane, playing against her former pupils, spent most of her time on the pitch lurking about the right side and, of all people, finding the back of the net with a nifty touch for the first goal of the match. South African sensation Phewa had a great game as she not only managed to turn often on her defensive marker, but also found the back of the net with two quality touches: a quick power shot in the goal mouth and an equally unstoppable elegant head flick later in the game. Of the second half substitutes Laue was uncharacteristically not totally spot on during a drive that saw her basically dribbling the whole Purdue defensive middle as well as the desperately outrushing goalie only to see her shot sail wide.While FC Indiana looked dominant most of the time and for a while in the second half turned the Purdue box into what seemed a fourth of July celebration with repeated shots on goal, a great part of the action was hardly perfect. On the other hand the potential displayed looks encouraging, and we must expect that the capable coaching staff will be able to iron out the problems during the upcoming Florida trip.