University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Soccer Releases 2011 Schedule
3/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota soccer program announced its 2011 schedule on Wednesday with the Gophers adding seven incoming freshman to an experienced roster of 14 returners for the 2011 campaign. The 19-game schedule will see the Gophers take on several of the top teams in the nation including seven opponents that competed in last year's NCAA tournament.
After hosting North Dakota State in an exhibition game on Friday, Aug. 12, the Gophers open the 2011 season on Aug. 19 on the road against an experienced Maryland team that earned a No. 1 seed in last year's NCAA tournament and returns eight starters and 11 seniors. The meeting will mark the first time that the two programs meet on the pitch. The team then hosts South Dakota State in the 2011 home opener on Sunday, Aug. 21 before departing for a two-game road trip to California with contests against San Diego State on Aug. 26 and UC-Santa Barbara on Aug. 28.
Minnesota returns home following the two-game trip to the Golden State to host the fourth-annual Minnesota Gold Classic on Sept. 2-4. The four-team tournament see the Gophers face off against Georgia and UW-Milwaukee over the weekend while Iowa State will also compete in the event. The Bulldogs returns nine starters from last season and has earned bids to the NCAA tournament in three of the last four years while the Panthers won the Horizon League title and competed in its seventh NCAA tournament in the last 10 years in 2010.
The Gophers return to action the following weekend with a two-game road trip to Illinois, where the team will take on Illinois State and DePaul. The Redbirds have tallied three Missouri Valley Conference championships since 2007 while the Blue Demons are coached by Gopher alum and two-time All-Big Ten honoree Erin (Hussey) Chastain. A teammate of current Minnesota Head Coach Mikki Denney Wright while at Minnesota, Chastain helped the Gophers to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances and the 1995 Big Ten Championship.
The Big Ten season opens on Sunday, Sept. 18 for Minnesota when defending Big Ten co-champion and College Cup participant Ohio State comes to St. Paul for a meeting at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. The Buckeyes return seven starters from last year's squad. From there, the Gophers hit the road for a tough conference road trip. In a span of seven days, Minnesota will travel to Michigan (9/23), Michigan State (9/25) and Wisconsin (9/29) for a trio of conference games. Michigan and Wisconsin are both coming off of NCAA tournament appearances while the Badgers return 10 starters from last year's team that advanced to the second round of the national tournament. Things don't get any easier at home as the Gophers follow up with a meeting against Penn State at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 2. The Nittany Lions split the conference title with Ohio State last season in route to an NCAA second round appearance. In 2011, Penn State will return nine starters.
After meeting Penn State at home, the Gophers then depart on another three-game, Big Ten road stretch with stops at Iowa (10/8), Illinois (10/14) and Northwestern (10/16) before closing out the regular season with a three-game home stretch against Indiana (10/21), Purdue (10/23) and Nebraska (10/28). The Oct. 28th contest against the Cornhuskers will mark the first meeting of the two teams as conference competitors. The Gophers will also honor its senior class during the Nebraska game.
The Big Ten Tournament returns in 2011 with Northwestern hosting the conference playoff on Nov. 2-6 before the NCAA tournament begins on Nov. 11. The national competition runs throughout the month of November until the 2011 College Cup in Kennesaw, Ga. on Dec. 4-6.
A full 2011 Minnesota women's soccer schedule is attached. All game times subject to change. Visit Gophersports.com for updates leading up to the 2011 season.
