University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Minnesota Earns a Clean Sheet Over Iowa
10/11/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
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Tickets on Sale for Michigan State/Michigan Matches
IOWA CITY, Iowa - The University of Minnesota women's soccer team defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 2-0 to sweep their last two-game road weekend of the regular season.
With the win, the Gophers move to 11-2-2 overall and 6-1-0 in Big Ten play.
"We came into today knowing that it was going to be a really difficult game," said head coach Stefanie Golan. "In the first half, I thought that we struggled in terms of the speed of play. The team was trying to execute what we asked of them, but we just weren't doing it fast enough. We were getting frustrated by a lot of things that were out of our control."
At half, the score was locked at zeroes but it wasn't without an effort to capitalize in the first 45 minutes.
Minnesota tallied ten shots, to a lone effort by Iowa, along with four corner kicks. The Hawkeye keeper was called upon six times to make saves for Iowa.
With the score still nil nil, both teams emerged in the second half ready to make impact.
In the 55th-minute of play, junior co-captain Simone Kolander found service from freshman April Bockin to net her 10th goal of the season. Kolander became the leading scorer in the Big Ten after her 9th goal against Nebraska on Thursday and further proved her crown.
With four minutes to go with Minnesota leading by one, redshirt senior Taylor Stainbrook scored her second goal of the season off an assist from Josee Stiever, her fourth of the season.
"After the first half, we made the necessary adjustments and found a way to make those key plays that resulted in our two goals in the second half," said Golan. "Our players showed a lot of composure even through those frustrating times and were able to pull it off in the end for the win."
"We exploded where we needed to today and it worked out well for us," said Stainbrook. "Our defense is rock solid and limits what the other team would like to do and the looks that they want to create. We can rely on our backs to shut them down.
In the second half, the Maroon and Gold notched 14 shots, giving them a grand total of 24 on the night, along with four more corner kicks (8 total) and had nine fouls.
In goal, junior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs' record moves to 10-2-2.
"Tarah did a great job staying engaged even though we had the ball for long periods of time and didn't make it easy for them to gain it back."
LOOKING AHEAD
Following their back-to-back stint on the road, Minnesota will return to Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium to host the Michigan State Spartans and the Michigan Wolverines.
Thursday's nightcap game is set for 7:00 p.m. and Sunday's match has a start time of 1:00 p.m.
FOLLOW THE GOPHERS
Are you following the Gophers on the road or from home? Make sure to follow @GopherSoccer on Twitter and use the team's new hashtag #Unbreakable. You can also check for updates on Facebook and Instagram by "liking" Golden Gopher Soccer on Facebook or following the Gophers on Instagram.
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