University of Minnesota Athletics
No. 21 Soccer: Big Ten Tournament Preview
11/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Tournament Preview
After clinching a share of the Big Ten regular season title last weekend with a 1-0 victory against Iowa in Iowa City, the Gophers are back at the Iowa Soccer Complex for the Big Ten Tournament this weekend. The Gophers own the second seed for the Big Ten Tournament and will square off against seventh seed Northwestern in the first quarterfinal match of the tournament at 10:00 a.m. Thursday.
The winner of the Minnesota-Northwestern match will lock horns with either third seed Purdue or sixth seed Ohio State on Friday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. on the Big Ten Network. The Big Ten Tournament championship match, slated for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff on Nov. 9, will also be carried live by the BTN.
Scouting the Gophers
After clinching the third Big Ten conference title in program history and its first since 1997, No. 21 Minnesota holds the second seed in this weekend’s Big Ten Tournament. No. 23 Penn State earns the top seed by virtue of their 2-0 victory over Minnesota on Oct. 17.
Minnesota draws Northwestern in the quarterfinal round less than two weeks after the Gophers’ 2-0 win over the Wildcats in St. Paul. Tamara Strahota scored the game-winner in the 68th minute of that match, and also tallied the game-winner against Iowa in the opening minute of the second half last weekend.
The Gophers enter the weekend on a four-game winning streak, recording shutouts in three of those four wins. Lindsey Schwartz (Bettendorf, Iowa) leads the team with 16 points (6 G, 4 A) through 20 games, followed closely by fellow senior Kaitlin Wagner with 15 points (5 G, 5 A) and Strahota with 12 (5 G, 2 A).
Minnesota has derived much of its success this season from solid play in its midfield and defensive corps. Kelsey Hood (Ankeny, Iowa), a two-time All-Big Ten honoree, has been dominant this season as a defensive central midfielder and has carved out a reputation as one of the elite ball-winners in the country. The Gophers’ defensive group, consisting of Kylie Kallman (Woodbury, Minn.), Jennie Clark (Norwalk, Iowa), Krystle Kallman (Woodbury, Minn.) and Josie Solie (Mahtomedi, Minn.), has been extremely solid this season playing in front of senior goalkeeper Lindsey Dare (Apple Valley, Minn.). This defensive core has the Gophers on track to challenge a number of Big Ten Conference records for defensive dominance this season.
Scouting the Wildcats
Northwestern secured a berth in the Big Ten Tournament with its 1-0 win over Wisconsin in Madison on Oct. 31. With the victory, the Wildcats leveled their league record at 5-5-0 to finish the season in a tie for fifth place with Illinois and Ohio State.
The Cats have been riding the solid play of sophomore goalkeeper Carolyn Edwards who turned in a solid performance while collecting six saves against the Gophers on Oct. 26 in a losing effort. Her fifth shutout of the season on Oct. 31 against Wisconsin handed Northwestern their fourth conference tournament berth since 2004.
Senior forward Jenny Dunn is the Wildcats’ leading scorer, netting four goals and collecting six assists on her way to 14 points this season. Sophomore Sam Greene (13 points), senior Amanda Hoffman (12 points) and junior Alicia Herczeg (11 points) are also significant scoring threats for Northwestern.
Northwestern draws the seventh-seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Wildcats fell to Purdue, the 2007 Big Ten Tournament champions, by a 3-1 count in the quarterfinal round last season at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul.
Breaking Down the Bracket
In Thursday’s second quarterfinal matchup, Purdue meets Ohio State. Purdue, the defending Big Ten Tournament champion, will face a stiff challenge this weekend. The Buckeyes’ win on Oct. 31 at Penn State was the first victory by a visiting Big Ten team since Oct. 1, 1995. In addition to facing the streaking Bucks, Purdue will also be dealing with the challenge of replacing star junior forward Loredana Riverso. The Boilers’ leading scorer, Riverso was called up to play for Canada in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup and is training with the team in British Columbia this week.
In the third quarterfinal matchup of the day, top-seeded Penn State meets tournament host and eighth seed Iowa. The Nittany Lions won a share of their 11th consecutive Big Ten regular season title this season, but are coming off a loss at home on Oct. 31 to Ohio State. Iowa finished the regular season with a 3-6-1 league mark, but looks forward to another crack at Penn State. The Hawkeyes took PSU to overtime on Oct. 19, but fell to the Nittany Lions by a 1-0 score in overtime in State College.
Illinois and Michigan State meet in the final quarterfinal match on Thursday. The fifth-seeded Illini rallied for consecutive home wins to close out the regular season. Illinois’ 5-5-0 league mark helped them qualify for their 11th consecutive Big Ten Tournament. Upstart Michigan State returns to the conference tournament this year for the first time since 2005. The Spartans are led by the Big Ten’s leading scorer and Freshman of the Year candidate Laura Heyboer. Heyboer has netted 19 goals and added nine assists this season for an eye-popping 47 points.
Title Town
With their 1-0 win over Iowa last weekend, the Gophers gained a share of the Big Ten regular season title for the first time since 1997. The championship was the third in the history of Minnesota Soccer, the second-most Big Ten conference championships for any school. Only Penn State has more titles. Wisconsin (two titles) is the only other Big Ten member institution with a regular season championship.
Minnesota is seeking its second ever Big Ten Tournament crown this weekend. The Gophers captured their first tournament title in 1995, the same year the team won its first regular season championship. Eight different schools have won a tournament title. Penn State leads the way with four tournament championships. Michigan and Wisconsin each own two.
Freshman Parkhill to Play Abroad
Minnesota freshman goalkeeper Cat Parkhill (Apple Valley, Minn.) will be absent from the weekend’s festivities in Iowa City. Along with Purdue’s Loredana Riverso and Penn State’s Alyssa Naeher, Parkhill is also training for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
The 18-year-old Parkhill is one of the three goalkeepers on the United States’ roster and is redshirting her first season with Minnesota Soccer.
Check in at gophersports.com to track Cat’s experience and to read her blog from the World Cup in Chile in the upcoming weeks.
