University of Minnesota Athletics
Soccer Begins Final Home Stand With Northwestern
10/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Northwestern (6-8-2, 3-3-1) at Minnesota (10-5-3, 3-5-2)
Slow Ride, Take It Easy
After back-to-back weekends with two games each, Golden Gopher soccer gets to slow the pace a little bit as they close out the regular season. This week, Minnesota hosts Northwestern in a 7:00 p.m. match-up on Friday Oct. 30 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
The Records
The Wildcats the contest with the Golden Gophers with a 6-8-2 record overall and a 3-3-1 record in Big Ten play, having won their last two. The Gophers counter with a 10-5-3 mark on the season and a 3-3-2 clip in conference games.
The Series
Minnesota holds the edge in the all-time series with Northwestern at 11-6-1 in 18 meetings. The Gophers bettered the Wildcats twice last season, winning 2-0 in the regular season, before a 3-1 triumph in the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota has won three straight in the series and six of the last 10.
Last Match-Up
The Gophers and Wildcats last met in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Big Ten Tournament. In the game, Northwestern took a 1-0 led into the half, but three second half goals by Minnesota propelled them to the 3-1 victory, and ended Northwestern season.
Follow Along
Friday's match will be broadcast live from Robbie Stadium in the Gold Zone, through GopherSports.com. The live web stream will be in addition to Live Stats which are available as always. Both the Live Stats and the Gold Zone video can be accessed through GopherSports.com as well as on the Gopher Soccer schedule page.
Last Time Out
Last weekend Minnesota went winless for the second straight week. They first earned a 1-1 2OT tie with Michigan on Oct. 23, before falling 2-1 to Michigan State on Oct. 25. In each match, the Gophers scored first and held a 1-0 lead in the second half.
Next Up
Following this week, the Gophers will gear up for their final regular season match, as they close the season at home. On Friday Nov. 6, Minnesota hosts Indiana in the season finale at 7:00 p.m. at Robbie Stadium.
Scouting Northwestern
- 6-8-2 on the season with wins in their last two games
- All three Big Ten losses have come to teams currently ranked (PUR, PSU, OSU)
- 2-6-1 on the road in 2009 and 1-2-1 in Big Ten road games
- Coached by 4th year head coach Stephanie Erickson who was 27-26-7 prior to 2009
- Led in scoring by Alicia Herczeg with 10 points (5G)
- Carolyn Edwards has all decisions in goal and a 1.27 GAA and a .734 save%
- Have been outscored 21-to-13 on the season (10-to-4 1st half, 11-to-7 2nd half)
- Beat current No. 23 Indiana 1-0 on 9/25
- In conf. games, rank 7th in goals allowed (21), 10th in shots (171), 11th in points (34), 11th in goals (13) and 11th in assists (8)
- Do not have an individual in the top-10 in shots, goals or points
- Went 10-9-1 in 2008 and 5-5-0 in the Big Ten falling the the Big Ten Tourney quarters to Minnesota 3-1
