University of Minnesota Athletics
Soccer Tops NDSU After Penalty Kicks
5/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Both teams were coming off an appearance in the 2010 NCAA Tournament and participated in the regional hosted at Minnesota. Last fall, the Bison fell to #10 Texas A&M in the first round in a penalty kick shootout after playing to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime. The Gophers knocked off the Aggies in the second round by a 2-0 score after dispatching of Creighton in the first round. North Dakota State returns 10 starters and 18 letter winners from that team which includes 11 rising seniors while Minnesota returns 5 starters and 12 letter winners from their NCAA Round of 16 appearance.
The Gophers came out from the opening whistle and created all the quality chances of the first half but failed to convert and ended up in a 0-0 tie at the half after outshooting their neighbors to the west 7-2. The Bison proved to be more dangerous in the 2nd half and earned a penalty kick with 22:39 remaining in the match after Minnesota junior Josie Solie unintentionally handled the ball in the penalty box. Bison junior Michelle Gaffaney converted the legitimate PK to put the Gophers in a 0-1 hole.
The Gophers fought back and earned the equalizer with 12:58 to play when sophomore Nicole Baier got on the end of a through pass from junior Shari Eckstrom and found a streaking Solie at the far post with her cross. Solie made good on her chance with a diving header that beat the NDSU goalkeeper. The score remained 1-1 at the end of the 90 minutes of regulation play.
The teams went straight into penalty kicks. Juniors Tamara Strahota and Eckstrom converted early and redshirt freshman Stephanie Brandt clinched the Gopher victory as the 5th shooter for Minnesota. Sophomore Cat Parkhill made two saves in the shootout and another Bison missed to result in the 3-2 shootout win for the Gophers.
On the day, including the shootout, Parkhill recorded 4 saves while NDSU netminder Kalani Bertsch had 6 saves. Minnesota outshot NDSU 13-7 in regulation, and recorded 7 corners to the Bison's 2.
The two teams will meet up again to open the 2011 season in another exhibition on Friday, August 12th before Minnesota turns its attention to ACC power Maryland in the regular season opener. The Gophers will welcome eight talented newcomers to the group of returners who finished the spring exhibition season with a 3-1-1 record and a dominating performance at the inaugural Gopher 7's Spring Tournament.
