University of Minnesota Athletics
Senior Molly Schneider: Raising the Bar
10/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
After graduating from Rochester Century High School and recruited by some of the top Division I schools around, such as Wisconsin, Texas A & M, Ohio State, Ohio University and Minnesota, she chose the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “Initially I wanted to be closer to home and Milwaukee was the closest out of any of the other schools I was looking at besides here,” Schneider said.
The University of Minnesota was the closest to home but at the time the program didn’t fit her goals or interests. So Schneider completed two very successful years at UW-Milwaukee prior to becoming a Golden Gopher. She posted a 10-7-4 career record with 38 appearances with seven starts. She also attained a 1.17 goals-against-average and .772 save percentage in two seasons. But she always knew that she could succeed at higher level.
“I wanted to come back home because it was easier access for my family to come to games and I wanted a more competitive training atmosphere,” Schneider said. “Working with (head coach) Mikki (Denney Wright), I knew that was what she was after. She was creating a more competitive culture within her team. I was also looking for a great goalkeeper coach and heard a lot of great things about (assistant coach) Brandon (Barkus).”
After being granted her release from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schneider made the move back home. At that time Minnesota had two returning and one incoming freshman goalkeepers on the team, but Denney Wright did some research on Schneider and thought they should give her a try. “With Minnesota’s new coaching staff and the program turnaround, I thought it would be a great fit for me,” Schneider stated.
“It’s obviously worked out really well,” Barkus said.” Her work ethic is unbelievable and second to none. I don’t know anyone that works harder than she does. Molly works really hard academically and she works just as hard on the soccer field.”
Last season as a junior, Schneider played every minute of every match and posted at 1.43 goals-against-average with a .794 save percentage. She posted five shutouts, the most by a Golden Gopher goalkeeper since 2000. Schneider ranked fourth on the single-season list with 100 saves and was ranked third in the Big Ten in saves. Schneider was also named the team’s Defensive Most Valuable Player.
But with all of those accolades, Schneider knows that soccer is a game consisting of a team effort. “I think it’s a team effort all the time. A lot of the time you feel like if you let a goal in the game it’s on you, or you’ll get a shutout and feel that you did well. But the majority of the time, it’s an entire team effort. It’s about the entire team playing well together,” she said.
She is a confident and experienced player, but still get the game jitters. “I think there’s always a little bit of nerves out there no matter how much you’ve played or competed in your life. It’s my senior year and I’ve played a lot of games throughout my career, but there’s always nervousness that goes into every game,” she admitted.
Nervous or not, she has shown a lot of team leadership as a team captain. “Molly shows enthusiasm, strong leadership, passion, and intensity…a lot of intangibles,” Barkus said. “Always before games, she’s the motivator screaming and yelling, trying to get the players fired up. She brings a lot to our team.”
So far this season, Schneider has also brought a 3-1-0 Big Ten record and a miniscule 0.94 goals-against-average to boot. This past week, she became the first Golden Gopher to be named Big Ten Player of the Week since the 2002 season, thanks to back-to-back shutouts at Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Efforts like that are a primary reason why Minnesota is closing in on its first postseason appearance since 2000. The Golden Gophers’ prodigal goalkeeper is well on her way to leading Minnesota back to the promised land.
story by Cathy Behr, athletic communications graduate assistant University of Minnesota’s senior goalkeeper, Molly Schneider has always had a love for soccer and a determination to be the best. With her hard work and unwavering goalkeeping skills, she has allowed herself to go to that higher level of play throughout her career.
After graduating from Rochester Century High School and recruited by some of the top Division I schools around, such as Wisconsin, Texas A & M, Ohio State, Ohio University and Minnesota, she chose the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “Initially I wanted to be closer to home and Milwaukee was the closest out of any of the other schools I was looking at besides here,” Schneider said.
The University of Minnesota was the closest to home but at the time the program didn’t fit her goals or interests. So Schneider completed two very successful years at UW-Milwaukee prior to becoming a Golden Gopher. She posted a 10-7-4 career record with 38 appearances with seven starts. She also attained a 1.17 goals-against-average and .772 save percentage in two seasons. But she always knew that she could succeed at higher level.
“I wanted to come back home because it was easier access for my family to come to games and I wanted a more competitive training atmosphere,” Schneider said. “Working with (head coach) Mikki (Denney Wright), I knew that was what she was after. She was creating a more competitive culture within her team. I was also looking for a great goalkeeper coach and heard a lot of great things about (assistant coach) Brandon (Barkus).”
After being granted her release from Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Schneider made the move back home. At that time Minnesota had two returning and one incoming freshman goalkeepers on the team, but Denney Wright did some research on Schneider and thought they should give her a try. “With Minnesota’s new coaching staff and the program turnaround, I thought it would be a great fit for me,” Schneider stated.
“It’s obviously worked out really well,” Barkus said.” Her work ethic is unbelievable and second to none. I don’t know anyone that works harder than she does. Molly works really hard academically and she works just as hard on the soccer field.”
Last season as a junior, Schneider played every minute of every match and posted at 1.43 goals-against-average with a .794 save percentage. She posted five shutouts, the most by a Golden Gopher goalkeeper since 2000. Schneider ranked fourth on the single-season list with 100 saves and was ranked third in the Big Ten in saves. Schneider was also named the team’s Defensive Most Valuable Player.
But with all of those accolades, Schneider knows that soccer is a game consisting of a team effort. “I think it’s a team effort all the time. A lot of the time you feel like if you let a goal in the game it’s on you, or you’ll get a shutout and feel that you did well. But the majority of the time, it’s an entire team effort. It’s about the entire team playing well together,” she said.
She is a confident and experienced player, but still get the game jitters. “I think there’s always a little bit of nerves out there no matter how much you’ve played or competed in your life. It’s my senior year and I’ve played a lot of games throughout my career, but there’s always nervousness that goes into every game,” she admitted.
Nervous or not, she has shown a lot of team leadership as a team captain. “Molly shows enthusiasm, strong leadership, passion, and intensity…a lot of intangibles,” Barkus said. “Always before games, she’s the motivator screaming and yelling, trying to get the players fired up. She brings a lot to our team.”
So far this season, Schneider has also brought a 3-1-0 Big Ten record and a miniscule 0.94 goals-against-average to boot. This past week, she became the first Golden Gopher to be named Big Ten Player of the Week since the 2002 season, thanks to back-to-back shutouts at Wisconsin and Northwestern.
Efforts like that are a primary reason why Minnesota is closing in on its first postseason appearance since 2000. The Golden Gophers’ prodigal goalkeeper is well on her way to leading Minnesota back to the promised land.
story by Cathy Behr, athletic communications graduate assistant
