University of Minnesota Athletics
Bethke-to-Kallman Beats Northwestern in OT
10/31/2009 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
St. Paul, Minn. - It took an extra session, but the University of Minnesota soccer team worked their way back into the win column this evening (Oct. 30) with a 1-0 win in overtime over Northwestern.
The winning tally came late in the overtime period after a foul call on Northwestern (6-9-2, 3-4-1) just outside the top of the penalty box. Minnesota's (11-5-3, 4-3-2) Katie Bethke (Eau Claire, Wis.) lined up the free kick, and the Gopher offense took position in front of the goal. As Bethke's kick sailed down near the goal, Kylie Kallman (Woodbury, Minn.) got just enough of the ball to deflect it into the lower corner of the goal for the game-winner.
"Katie always serves great balls in and it was great getting on the end of one," Kallman said. "She works so hard and she has so many opportunities, I'm glad I could finish one off for the team."
The goal was the second of the season for Kallman and her first since the season opener. The two goals on the season represent a new career high for the defender, with tonight also marking her first career game-winner.
"So proud of our players for the way they battled," head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. "It's just been a couple weeks of adversity, some really tough games, and it just didn't seem like anything would go our way. They came out in the second half and they just went after it, fearlessly. I was just so proud of how they responded. This was a great win for our entire team. So I'm really proud of this group and how they've responded.
It was a cold rainy night at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium and made for some sloppy play early on.
"Northwestern's a good team, they're tough to break down," Denney Wright added. "I thought that the first half was a little bit ugly both ways. And in the second half we started to break them down and get some good opportunities."
The Gophers managed just four shots in the first half, landing two on goal, while the Wildcats took seven in the period. Fortunes changed in the second half as Minnesota connected for seven shots of their own with Northwestern gaining only two as the Gopher defense controlled the backline. The Wildcats were also held without a corner in the second half while the Gophers teed up six in the period. In the extra session, Minnesota took two shots to Northwestern's one, giving the Gophers a 13-to-10 edge in shots on the game.
Minnesota goalkeeper Cat Parkhill (Apple Valley, Minn.) stopped the only two shots she saw and collects her eighth shutout of the season, putting her in a tie for fourth place with Dana Larson from 1999 for most shutouts in a single season. Parkhill's 11 wins on the season, also match Larson from 1999 as the fifth most wins by a goalkeeper in a single season. As a team the Gophers have now pitched nine shutouts on the season which is tied for the fifth best single season in program history.
The Gophers will now turn their attention to the regular season finale against No. 23 Indiana back at Robbie Stadium on Nov. 6 as they look to further pad their NCAA Tournament resume.
"We were disappointed in ourselves the last couple weekends in the outcomes so we knew that this game and the next game are big games," Kallman said. "We'll concentrate all week on Indiana because that's all we have to look forward to. We played great tonight, hopefully we can keep this momentum going, and get the result next Friday."
Kickoff with the Hoosiers is set for 7:00 p.m.
