University of Minnesota Athletics
BLOG: NCAA Second Round
11/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
The 22nd-ranked Minnesota women's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday with a 2-1 victory over Marquette at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Today, the Golden Gophers (21-3-0) will battle South Dakota State (15-4-1) for the right to advance to quarterfinals against the winner of this afternoon's Notre Dame vs. Michigan State match.
Today's match between Minnesota and SDSU will be webcast live for free here on gophersports.com beginning at 1 p.m. (CT). Live stats are also be available here.
The Gophers and Jackrabbits will be meeting for the second time this season. Minnesota, which holds a 3-0-1 lead in the all-time series between the two programs, defeated SDSU, 2-0, earlier this yeasr on August 26 in Brookings, S.D. Director of athletic communications Garry Bowman will be providing updates from today's match here on gophersports.com. To send in a question or comment, please email Garry at gbowman@umn.edu.
SUNDAY, NOV. 16
FINAL, 2-0
That's it! It's all over. The Gophers have made history. Thanks to goals by Rouse and Schwartz, Minnesota has advanced to its first apperace in the NCAA quarterfinals with a 2-0 victory over South Dakota State. We'll have a full recap up shortly, including comments from both teams.
2:00, 2nd, 2-0
The Gophers can smell victory now and continue to play the ball wide, eating up valuable seconds on the clock.
10:00, 2nd, 2-0
The Gophers are 10 minutes away from history and thier first-ever apperance in the NCAA quarterfinals. Time is running out on SDSU, which continues to press forward. Minnesota is laying back a tad with only Schwartz and Fruci pushing forward.
17:00, 2nd, 2-0
I thought we were going to have our first card of the game as South Dakota State's Steph Peterson received a stern talking to from head referee Khalaf Al-Latayfeh after a hard tackle, but he kept the card in his pocket. Fouls are 14 for SDSU, 12 for Minnesota so overall a cleanly played match.
20:00, 2nd, 2-0
Twenty minutes to play and the Gophers continue to hold a 2-0 lead. If they can hold on they will face the region's top seed and No 1-ranked Notre Dame, which defeated Michigan State this afternoon, 1-0, in South Bend, Ind.
26:00, 2nd, 2-0
The Gophers answer with a strong effort on a set piece of their own as Katie Bethke sends a beautiful cross from the right sideline into the box where Krystle Kallman nodded it on net. The Gophers are certainly not sitting on their lead, though SDSU has made it more competitive. Shots are standing at 5-3 Minnesota in the second half right now.
28:00, 2nd, 2-0
South Dakota State answers with their best opportunity of the day. On a set piece from the top left of the penalty box Kerstyn Farrell sent a driving cross into the top of the goal box where Erin Kasmarik sent a diving header on goal right at Lindsey Dare. The save was an easy one for Dare, but a decent chance noe the less for the Jackrabbits.
30:00, 2nd, 2-0
Schwartz making a bid for goal number two of the match sent a cracking shot off the crossbar from a about 30 yards out then followed the rebound with another shot then when just wide. She is dominating up front for the Gophers and has seven of Minnesota's 13 shots on the day.
37:00, 2nd, 2-0
South Dakota State comes out fast in the second half with a couple of dangerous chances. The second by Kerstyn Farrell was the best chance of the match for the Jackrabbits but it was driven over the crossbar. Still no shots on goal for the Jacks.
45:00, 2nd, 2-0
There's the second half kickoff and we are back underway here at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Clouds have moved back in and the teams are playing under partly cloudy conditions in the second half. Temps continue to be chilly, though it has warmed up a bit to 34 degrees.
Halftime, 2-0
South Dakota State began probing the Gopher defense with a variety of long balls late in the first half but enjoyed little success. Minnesota was the superior team in the air both ends of the pitch and has quickly dispossessed SDSU throughout the match. Gopher goalkeeper Lindsey Dare has not seen much action through the first 45 minutes and has yet to face an official shot on goal as the Jackrabbits were limited to just a single shot attempt. We'll be back with the second half shortly.
11:00, 1st, 2-0
We've been treated to a fairly clean game thus far. No bookings and just 13 total fouls, 7 for Minnesota and 6 for SDSU. There has really been just one semi-dangerous set piece, and that was taken by SDSU.
14:00, 1st, 2-0
South Dakota State has level the match in corner kicks at one apiece, however Minnesota is still dominating in both shots (9-1) and shots on goal (5-1). The Gophers appear to be attacking wide, using their speed and then angling in long balls into the box. Schwartz has got her head on two, scoring on one.
18:00, 1st, 2-0
So just like Friday, the Gophers have jumped out to a comanding early lead. Two days ago Minnesota had to hold on for a 2-1 win to eliminate Marquette. And though South Dakota State has picked up the pass and is attacking more frequently the Gophers are hardly packing the back and sitting on their lead.
25:00, 1st half, 2-0
This is the 14th time this season that the Gophers have found the back of the net twice in a game. Coming into today's match, Minnesota is a perfect 13-0-0 when scoring two or more goals.
31:33, 1st half, 2-0
There's goal number two for the Gophers! Lindsey Schwarts nods a beautiful left footed cross from Katie Bethke from the left side of the penalty box past Lograsso for a 2-0 Minnesota lead. Through 15 minutes the Gophers are dominating possession, with most of the game being played in the Jackrabbits' half of the field. Shots are 7-0 for Minnesota, with the Gophers holding a shots on goal edge of 4-0.
33:00, 1st half, 1-0
A little more on Rouse... the sophomore's early goal was the fourth of the season and her first since scoring during the second half at Ohio State on Oct. 19. She now has 15 points on the season and is now third on the Gophers in scoring behind Lindsey Schwartz (21 points) and Kaitlin Wagner (17 points).
43:50, 1st half, 1-0
We'll that didn't take long. Molly Rouse took a beautiful feed from the top right of the penalty box sent in by Lindsey Schwartz and looped it over SDSU goalkeeper Nicole Lograsso for a quick 1-0 Minnesota lead. It is the fastest goal of the season for the Golden Gophers, who are 19-0-0 when scoring first this season.
45:00, 1st half
There's the kickoff and the NCAA second round is underway. The visiting Jackrabbits are sporting a bright gold kit with royal blue shorts, while the Golden Gophers are wearing their traditional all-white home unis. The Gophers are shooting toward the south goal (working left to right across your computer monitor), while South Dakota State is shooting toward the north goal.
12:50 p.m.
With 10 minutes until kickoff the teams have completed there warmups and are coming off the field. The sun has also made an appearance here at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, however the temperature has actually dropped a degree to 30. Starting lineups are about to get underway and the match will be starting soon.
12:35 p.m.
For those of you curious about the whereabouts of your usual correspondent, assistant athletic communications director and women's soccer SID Doug Vose, he was married yesterday in Mankato to the love of his life, Laura Mutch (now Vose). The couple is off to the Mexican Riviera to enjoy a week of fun under the sun.
12:30 p.m.
If you can't make it out to today's match (and I'm guessing if your are reading this right now 30 minutes before kickoff you're not on your way), be sure to check out the live webcast here on gophersports.com.
12:20 p.m.
Welcome to Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium and today's NCAA second round match up between Minnesota and South Dakota State. Both teams have taked the pitch for their pre-match warmups and are beginning their preparations for today's contest. Weather elements will once again play a big factor in today game. The current temperature is 31 degrees with a slight breeze making it feel more like 23. Luckily for the two teams the snow flurries that came down across the Twin Cities earlier today have dissipated and the field appears to be in good condition. Still, its something we'll keep an eye and let you know how it factors into today's contest.
