University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Dartmouth Tournament
9/5/2007 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
WEEKEND RECAP
The Golden Gopher soccer team opened its 2007 season last weekend, participating in the second annual Lady Vol Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee. The second annual tournament marked the first regular season competition at Tennessee’s newly-opened Regal Soccer Stadium at the Tennessee Soccer Complex.
The Gophers went 0-2-0 on the weekend, falling to Central Florida 2-1 on Friday and 1-0 to the 24th-ranked Tennessee Lady Volunteers on Sunday.
SHOOTING FRENZY VS. UCF
Minnesota’s season-high in shots during 2006 was 25, a feat that they accomplished Sept. 8 against Army. The last time the Gophers reached 30 shots in the same game came on Sept. 12, 2003 when they blistered Western Illinois with 33 (including 16 on goal) in a 3-0 win.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
The Gophers’ 18 corner kicks on Friday set a new team record and broke one of the longest-standing marks in program history. The previous corner kick record of 15 was set back on Sept. 13 of 1995 against Minnesota-Duluth, game that the Gophers won 9-0. 1995 also marked the first time that the Gophers were crowned Big Ten Champions.
ABOUT PROVIDENCE
The Friars should pose another challenge for Minnesota when they square off Friday afternoon in game one of the Dartmouth Tournament in Hanover, N.H. Providence returns nine starters and 15 letterwinners from a squad that went 4-8-5 overall a year ago but finished just 1-8-2 in the Big East, where the Friars finished in eighth place.
Providence is lead by senior midfielder Danielle Wieneke and sophomore Nicole Benko, who had four points last year. The Friars also return senior goalkeeper Laura Elfers, who grabbed 100 saves as a junior in 2006.
So far this season, the Friars have posed an 0-1-1 record, falling to Rhode Island 4-1 Friday and tying the University of Massachusetts 1-1 on Sunday.
The Friars have been relatively effective at limiting opponents’ attacking chances this season, but a whopping 31.2 percent (5-of-16) of the shots Providence has allowed have gone into the net. Friday’s match-up will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The action will get underway at 4:30 p.m. (EST). Live stats will be available via gophersports.com and by clicking here.
ABOUT DARTMOUTH
Ivy League powerhouse and tournament-host Dartmouth will be Minnesota’s fourth opponent of the 2007 season on Sunday afternoon. The Big Green have won the Ivy League six times in their history and made the NCAA Tournament ten times, last going in 2005.
Head coach Angie Hind has a 24-9-2 overall record in her first two seasons at the helm at Dartmouth, leading the Big Green to 12-4-1 (overall) and 6-1-0 (conference). Dartmouth finished second in the Ivy League, just a half game behind conference champion Columbia.
The Big Green will be relatively green themselves in 2007, as the program lost six starters and 10 letterwinners from last year’s squad. Most changed will be the team’s defensive corps the Big Green allowed just 6.6 shots per game last year and had a 0.58 goals-against-average, but will debut an almost entirely back line.
So far this season, the team’s youth has endured its fair share of lumps. Dartmouth lost its first two games of the regular season by a combined score of 5-0, falling 2-0 to Texas A&M on Friday and 3-0 to Rice Sunday. After posting just five shots against the Aggies, the Big Green bounced back with an 11-shot, 6-shot-on-goal effort Sunday against the Owls.
This weekend’s showdown will be just the second ever between the two squads. Last Sept. 15, the Gophers prevailed 1-0 despite posting just three shots in the contest. Elena Fruci had the game’s lone goal.
Due to traveling conflicts, Sunday’s game will now be played at 12:30 p.m. (EST). Live stats will be available via gophersports.com and by clicking here.
YOUTH IS SERVED
Minnesota’s highly-touted freshman class was thrown right into the fire during the team’s opening weekend. Newcomers Katie Bethke, Angie Olson, Julie Rezac, Molly Rouse, Kylie Kallman and Katie Shelander all saw significant action against Central Florida and Tennessee. Last season, the Gophers started three freshmen (Kelly Wepking, Sara Clancy and Elena Fruci) to begin the season.
AROUND THE BIG TEN IN THE POLLS
The Penn State Nittany Lions’ 2-1 loss to Tennessee at the Lady Vol Classic last weekend caused the 2006 Big Ten Champions to fall from number seven in the weekly NSCAA/adidas poll down to #15. Other Big Ten schools receiving votes this week were Illinois (1-1-0) and Purdue (0-1-1)
TRADITIONALLY STRONG STARTERS
The Golden Gophers will look to continue a trend of recent years by starting the season strong. The Gophers went 7-1-1 in their first eight games last season and won three of their first five matches in 2005. In 2004, the Gophers started 3-1.
