University of Minnesota Athletics
SOC: Golden Gophers Open Exhibition Season Tonight at Dayton
8/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
"Dayton will provide a good challenge for our team," head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. "With as many as six or seven freshmen in the starting lineup, our two exhibition matches will be critical as we prepare for the regular season."
Following tonight's match against Dayton, Minnesota will travel to Omaha, Neb., for a Saturday exhibition against Creighton. The Golden Gophers will open the season at No. 13 Nebraska on August 26. Minnesota opens its home schedule on Sunday, Sept. 11 vs. South Dakota State.
The Golden Gophers return 11 letterwinners and eight starters from last year's team which won five of their last seven matches and posted the second-best non-conference record in school history. Minnesota's roster features just seven upperclassmen, all seniors, led by leading scorer Becky Dellaria and starting goalkeeper Molly Schneider.
Optimism is high entering Denney Wright's second season as head coach. The Minnesota coaching staff brought in arguably the best recruiting class in school history highlighted by top-100 national recruit Kelsey Hood, Minnesota Player of the Year Elena Fruci and Iowa Player of the Year Lindsey Schwartz.
