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VOLUME 26, ISSUE 1 73 style. You can play this game not to lose or you can play this game to win. "I think sometimes when you're not getting results, teams tend to sit back, and think, 'We don't have the abil- ity to attack, so we're going be compact and counterat- tack,' and you can win some games that way, but a lot of those times you can still lose, just not by much. So we're going to play our style and we're going to attack." It might be a bit of a different philosophy for the Big Ten, a league — like its perception in basketball and football — that can turn a bit defense-oriented. Only one team, Penn State at 2.25, scored more than two goals per game last season. Compare that to the ACC, which had three teams score more than 2.7 per game, including a 3.38 clip by Virginia, the second-highest average in the country. "I think to really make strides in this conference you have to look at what the conference is known for, and what aspects are essential to mimic, and when can you be different," said Roff, who has ties to Indiana, having coached high school, club and professional development teams in the state. "The Big Ten is known for Midwestern soccer players, strong and physical and tough, and they battle and use that physical play. That is why I love coach- ing in the Midwest. "At the same time, we are recruiting some players that are physically smaller than schools would recruit, but are extremely skillful. There is a saying in soccer, 'Eight carry the piano and three can play it.' We need a balance of carrying and play- ers." Roff has had success doing so be- fore. At Illinois State, where he spent eight seasons before replacing Rob Klatte at Purdue, Roff helped turn the Redbirds into one of the nation's top-scoring teams. During Roff's tenure at Illinois State, the Redbirds won six regu- lar-season Missouri Valley Confer- ence titles and made five NCAA Tour- nament appearances. Last season, ISU averaged 2.68 goals per game, the eighth-best mark in the country; the season also marked the Redbirds' fourth-consecutive trip the NCAA tourney, advancing to the second round in each. "Attacking is fun," said Jim Schneiderhahn, a Roff as- sistant since 2011, first at Illinois State and now Purdue. "We continue to layer it in. Do I expect us to score 60-plus goals like last year at our last place (Illinois State)? No. But it is getting the kids a taste of what we are looking for. Then, finding the ability we have here and figuring out what we need to go out and get (in recruiting). "That is a big strength in Drew. Lots of times in coach- es we look at (players) in terms of what they cannot do, but Drew does a great job of recognizing the abilities of each player and putting them in a position to succeed." It's what Roof is trying to do with the Boilermakers in Year 1. In junior forward Maddy Williams, who scored eight points in the first two games this season, he has one of the Big Ten's top goal-scorers. But unlike previous sea- sons, when Williams was the focus on much of Purdue's goal-scoring, Roff has tried to get her help. "We have to adapt to his style of coaching, but he is adapting to our style of play, and it isn't easy," Love said. "It is taking time, but we are getting there and it has been building since the spring and it has been going well so far." Purdue's soccer program has experienced success, winning the Big Ten in 2007 and advancing to the NCAA Tournament 1241 Cumberland Ave, Suite B West Lafayette, IN 47906 Phone: 765-497-0197 www.bankerinvestmentgroup.com A Fee-Based Investment Advisor located in the Purdue Research Park 25+ Years of Investment Management Experience Bill Banker, President Purdue University Alumnus '85 Purdue Baseball Alumnus '81-'85