University of Minnesota Athletics
Season Opener Preview: Gophers vs. Northern Iowa
8/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
The University of Minnesota women’s soccer team gets its season underway this Friday evening as they host Northern Iowa at 7:00 p.m. at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul. Friday’s season opener also marks the first ever Kicks for the Cure’ event hosted by Minnesota Soccer and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The Gophers will wear special pink jerseys against the Panthers and tickets are only $1. The game can also be watched live in the Gold Zone.
The Gophers lead the all-time series against Northern Iowa at 2-0-0. Friday’s tilt will mark the first time the two programs have met since the Gophers upended the Panthers 3-1 in Cedar Falls, Iowa during the 2005 season. The first meeting between the schools on Aug. 29, 2004 was Mikki Denney Wright’s first match as head coach at Minnesota and ended as a 1-0 Gopher win.
Northern Iowa enters the 2008 season with a new head coach in Jennifer Plante, who took over the program in February after serving as an assistant coach with the program in 2007. Plante is no stranger the rigors of the Big Ten, as she was a All-Big Ten performer at Ohio State (1995-2000) during her collegiate playing days.
Plante inherits a program that made its first trip to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament since 2004 last season. Plante’s squad returns just five starters and nine letterwinners from a squad that finished 6-10-2 (1-4-1 in MVC conference play) a year ago.
Match Notes
The Gophers are 9-4-1 in program history against Missouri Valley Conference foes and are 3-0 in August home games in the Denney Wright era.
After the Gophers kick off the U’ intercollegiate athletics 2008-09 athletics slate with their match against the Panthers, they hit the road for a match at Montana Sunday afternoon and will play South Dakota State in a 6:00 p.m. match on Tues., Aug. 26.
The Aug. 22 date is the earliest season opener in Minnesota Soccer history. The Gophers did play an exhibition game last season on Aug. 18 against South Dakota State.
Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080 or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER. Tickets will also be available Friday at the gate.
-UM-
The Gophers lead the all-time series against Northern Iowa at 2-0-0. Friday’s tilt will mark the first time the two programs have met since the Gophers upended the Panthers 3-1 in Cedar Falls, Iowa during the 2005 season. The first meeting between the schools on Aug. 29, 2004 was Mikki Denney Wright’s first match as head coach at Minnesota and ended as a 1-0 Gopher win.
Northern Iowa enters the 2008 season with a new head coach in Jennifer Plante, who took over the program in February after serving as an assistant coach with the program in 2007. Plante is no stranger the rigors of the Big Ten, as she was a All-Big Ten performer at Ohio State (1995-2000) during her collegiate playing days.
Plante inherits a program that made its first trip to the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament since 2004 last season. Plante’s squad returns just five starters and nine letterwinners from a squad that finished 6-10-2 (1-4-1 in MVC conference play) a year ago.
Match Notes
The Gophers are 9-4-1 in program history against Missouri Valley Conference foes and are 3-0 in August home games in the Denney Wright era.
After the Gophers kick off the U’ intercollegiate athletics 2008-09 athletics slate with their match against the Panthers, they hit the road for a match at Montana Sunday afternoon and will play South Dakota State in a 6:00 p.m. match on Tues., Aug. 26.
The Aug. 22 date is the earliest season opener in Minnesota Soccer history. The Gophers did play an exhibition game last season on Aug. 18 against South Dakota State.
Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Gopher Ticket Office at 612-624-8080 or by calling 1-800-U-GOPHER. Tickets will also be available Friday at the gate.
-UM-
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