University of Minnesota Athletics
Kallman, Defense Help Minnesota Defeat No. 16 Illinois 1-0
10/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
The University of Minnesota women’s soccer team beat Illinois (9-6-0, 3-3-0) by a 1-0 score Sunday afternoon at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul. Krystle Kallman’s goal off a header on a corner kick from fellow senior Lindsey Schwartz was all the Gophers (14-1-0, 4-1-0) would need in their first contest against a NSCAA/adidas top-25 team this season.
Kallman, along with her sister Kylie and fellow backliners Jennie Clark and Josie Solie, played stifling defense all afternoon long. Today’s win for the Gophers came on the strength of a program-record 12th shutout of the season for Minnesota. It seemed only fitting that a defender would score the only goal of the match.
“Before the play, my sister let me know that she was going to draw one of the tall girls out of the box so I could get to that back post,” Kallman said. “I told Schwartzy to hit it far, and she did. It was a beautiful ball.”
Schwartz’ assist was her second of the season, second of the weekend and second on a corner kick. Both Minnesota’s game-winners this weekend have come on the strength of a Schwartz corner. The Bettendorf, Iowa native leads the team with 14 points this season.
“This was a typical gritty, Sunday game where neither team was able to put together many quality scoring chances,” Minnesota head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. “More than anything, this was just a great team win for us today. We had a lot of kids come in off the bench Katie Shelander, Shari Eckstrom, Sara Clancy, Josie Solie - and play some quality minutes for us.”
For Kallman, it was her first goal as a Golden Gopher after transferring from West Virginia last spring. Kallman’s last collegiate goal was another game-winner that sent the Mountaineers to the NCAA Elite Eight last fall. Kallman’s high-level experience on the national stage has allowed her to become a integral piece of a defensive group that has helped Minnesota goalkeeper Lindsey Dare to a 0.26 goals against average this season.
“I think we have great language between the four of us. It’s great to have someone like Josie [Solie] that can come in, keep our legs fresh, and not miss a beat,” Kallman said. “I think everyone would like to be out there for 90 minutes, but it’s a huge advantage to have the depth that we do.”
Today’s win lifts Minnesota’s Big Ten record to 4-1 and moves the team into a tie for second place in the Big Ten standings with Penn State. The Gophers and the No. 23 Nittany Lions each own 4-1 league records and have earned 13 points points in the conference standings. No. 26 Purdue still sits atop the Big Ten standings following their 2-1 win at Iowa this afternoon in spite of their loss to the Gophers Friday night. The Boilermakers own a 4-1-1 conference mark.
The Gophers hit the road for another set of significant Big Ten games next weekend when they travel to Penn State and Ohio State. Minnesota meets the Nittany Lions (9-6-0, 4-1-0) in a 3:00 p.m. (CT) start in State College, Pa. on Friday afternoon.
