University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Hosts Inaugural Gopher 7s on Saturday
2/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS - Over 60 soccer games will be played this Saturday on the University of Minnesota campus when the Gopher women's soccer team hosts the inaugural Gopher 7s - a day-long, 7-on-7 tournament that kicks off Minnesota's spring schedule.
Minnesota, fresh off its second Sweet 16 appearance in the last three years, will split its squad into two separate teams for the event while an alumni squad of former Gophers will also be competing against 21 Division I, II and III teams from around the region. The Division I field features several some of the top teams in the Midwest. Creighton, who fell to Minnesota in the first round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, will be on hand for the competition and will be joined by the likes of Northern Iowa, UW-Green Bay, North Dakota and South Dakota.
All games will be played at the Gibson-Nagurski Indoor Complex on the University of Minnesota campus. Games will last 22 minutes each with four groups of six teams playing in round robin format before a separate championship round for Division I and Division II/III. Doors open at 5:45 a.m. with the first matches set to kickoff at 6:00 a.m. The semifinals are set for 6:45 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. with the championship matches kicking off at 7:45 p.m. A complete schedule will be made available on Saturday.
Admission is $1 for all fans. Spectators should enter at the public entrance to the field, located along 15th Avenue SE, a few yards north of the Gibson-Nagurski Football Complex entrance. No food or drink is allowed in the facility with the exception of water. Some bleacher seating will be available, and fans will be allowed to bring lawn chairs into the facility.
