Golden Gophers Fall to Creighton 2-1 in Exhibition Match

The University of Minnesota soccer team fell to Creighton 2-1 in an exhibition match on Saturday, Aug. 19, in Omaha, Neb. Redshirt freshman Elena Fruci (Mahtomedi, Minn.) provided the only goal for the Golden Gophers.

Fruci put the Gophers on the board in the 20th minute of the first half with a chip-in goal off a defensive miscue by the Bluejays. Lindsey Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa) recovered the ball off the Creighton turnover and sent it ahead to Fruci near the top of the 18-yard box. With Creighton goalkeeper Heather Currie out of position, Fruci lofted a shot into the back of the net to put the Gophers up 1-0.

Much of the story in the first half was the solid play of the Minnesota defense. Creighton pushed the pace early in the first 15 minutes of the match, but the Gophers were able to prevent any serious scoring threat. In the 38th minute, the Bluejays brought in some fresh legs and again tried to put the pressure on the maroon and gold. They threatened a couple of times late in the half but the Gopher defense stiffened. Sophomore Lindsey Dare (Apple Valley, Minn.) started the game between the posts for Minnesota but did not face a single shot on goal in the first half. The Gophers went into the break with the one goal lead.

Creighton came out in the second half again looking to put the pressure on the Gophers. Freshman Chelsey Turner (Rochester, Minn.), who replaced Dare in the second half, was challenged immediately by the Bluejay attack. In the 52nd minute, Creighton forward Anne Peetz tied the game for Creighton. Peetz fired a shot from the top of the 18-yard box that beat a diving Turner inside the left post to knot the score at one apiece.

Peetz scored again in the 63rd minute to give Creighton a 2-1 lead. From 20 yards out, the freshman sent a diagonal shot from the right side that was over the reach of Turner and found the back of the net. The goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Gophers could not find the equalizer.

Minnesota had a couple of opportunities to tie the score late in the match but were unable to convert. In the 86th minute, Fruci sent a cross from the left side to a streaking Kelly Wepking (Pleasant Prairie, Wis.) in front of the net on the right side. Wepking attempted to lift a shot towards the top of the net, but Bluejay goalkeeper Kristen Casey made a nice save to deny the goal.

In the 90th minute, Fruci got out on a run and made a nice move to beat the Creighton defense. She fired a shot from 20 yards out on the left side, but it sailed just high.

Wepking led the Gophers with two shots on goal, while Fruci and Schwartz had one apiece. Turner made two saves in the second half.

The Golden Gophers will open regular season play against Drake on Friday, Aug. 25, at 7 p.m., at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.

Post-game Quotes
Head Coach Mikki Denney Wright

On the overall flow of the game
“It was definitely the tale of two halves. I thought we played really well and controlled the rhythm in the first half but we really struggled in the first 25 minutes of the second half. Creighton put a lot of pressure on us. We couldn’t gain possession and we gave the ball away a lot. They scored two goals in 10 minutes, and that was our worst 10 minutes. Then we came back in the last 10 minutes and had some really good opportunities. We’re playing a new system and are trying to look at some different things, so for the first time playing it, I thought we did some good things.”

On what the team can take from the match
“We have to work out the kinks in this exhibition game and we have to learn how to be consistent. Some of the issue there, especially with having so many young kids, is finding consistency and learning to play 90 minutes.”

On the players who stood out during the game
“Elena Fruci and Kelly Wepking both played really well. Kaitlin Wagner was a warrior defensively in the middle for us. She cleaned up a lot of things and that’s her role. Lyndsey Mueller, for her first start in back as a freshman, that's a tough spot and she had a good game. Lindsey Dare was really good in the first half. She was really simple with her possession and did a great job with her distribution. We really dominated in the first half and then struggled in the second half. Chelsey Turner made one really good save, and the one shot they hit was amazing, so you can’t put any blame on her.”

On what the team can take from the game
“We have some adjustments to make in the midfield defensively. We have to continue to develop our depth. Our kids have learned a lot from the experience, and we’re trying some new things so that’s exciting. They’re definitely ready for next week. We’ll get some things sorted out and figure out how we’re going to play (Drake and NDSU) and then we’ll go from there.”

On how the freshmen are coming along
“They’re looking to find consistency. They’ve done some really good things in practice. It’s just hard for young players who are freshmen to find consistency at this level. I think we saw that from all of them today, but they’ll get there. They’ll be rolling in a couple more games, and the more games they can get under their belt the better.”

On the play of Creighton
“They put us under some pressure athletically. We come here because they always put us under pressure and always give us a good game. They’re a good team to evaluate ourselves against.”
 

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