University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gopher Soccer Shuts Out Iowa 1-0
10/22/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
The University of Minnesota soccer team (6-10-0, 2-8-0) defeated Iowa, 1-0, on Friday night in Iowa City to wrap up the Big Ten regular season. With the win, the Golden Gophers earned their third straight road victory for the first time since 1998.
Minnesota tallied the lone goal of the game in the first half as Regina Moench scored in front of the Iowa net on a crossing pass from fellow senior Mary Kasper in the 37th minute. A three-time all-conference honoree at Creighton, Moench scored her third goal of the season after transferring to Minnesota during the offseason. Kasper, a walk-on from Forest Lake, Minn., who has appeared in just two matches this season, earned her first career point as a Golden Gopher.
Minnesota outshot the Hawkeyes (0-13-2, 0-9-1), 16-5, in the contest, including a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal. Junior Becky Dellaria had a season-high six shot attempts, including a team-high three shots on goal.
Junior Molly Schneider earned her fifth shutout of the season with four saves. For the transfer from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schneider's five shutouts are the most by a Golden Gopher goalkeeper since 2000. Iowa goalkeeper Britta Vogele had eight saves in the contest.
"I was proud of the way our kids played defensively to preserve the shutout," head coach Mikki Denney Wright. "Mary (Kasper) has not gotten a lot of playing time this season, so it was great to see her get her first career point. With such a young team, it's important to finish the season strong and we took a big step tonight."
The Golden Gophers will conclude the season with a pair of non-conference matches at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Minnesota will host North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting with the Bison, who are in their first year competing at the Division I level. The Golden Gophers will host South Dakota State next Friday night.
