University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Set to Host NCAA Tournament First Round
11/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota women's soccer team will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits in the first round of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m.
The Gophers, making their ninth tournament appearance, finished the regular-season with a record of 11-6-3 overall. Minnesota joins Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers as representatives from the Big Ten conference.
The first round matches will be played Nov. 13-15 with second round matches set for Nov. 20 and third round action on Nov. 22, all on campus sites. Quarterfinals will be played Nov. 27 or Nov. 28 on campus sites. The 2015 NCAA College Cup will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., with semifinal games on Dec. 4 and the championship match on Dec. 6.
LAST TIME OUT
Seeded No.6 in the Big Ten tournament, the Gophers took to New Brunswick, N.J. to face the No. 3 seed Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University for the second time in a two-week span.
The Gophers got on board first, as sophomore Maddie Gaffney netted her third goal of the season within the first three minutes of play off a corner kick.
Twelve minutes in, Rutgers scored the equalizer and would tally one more to leave the score 2-1 at half.
The Scarlet Knights notched two more in the second half for the final 4-1 victory.
Rutgers would advance in the Big Ten tournament surpassing Ohio State in the semifinals 2-0, but falling to the Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2015 Big Ten title game, 2-0, a team the Gophers defeated earlier in the season while unranked.
THE OPPONENT
The South Dakota State Jackrabbits enter the NCAA tournament with an overall record of 12-5-3. In the Summit League, the Jackrabbits closed with a record of 5-1-2.
SDSU won their second consecutive Summit League title with a 3-0 sweep over North Dakota State last Saturday.
The goal scorers of the day were Dani Patterson, who found service from Madison Yueill, followed by Diana Potterveld, who scored off a penalty kick as well as unassisted for the final tally of 3-0.
BIG TEN HONORS
Among the conference pack collecting the most prestigious individual honors was junior co-captain Simone Kolander, who earned the plaudit, Big Ten Forward of the Year.
Juniors Josee Stiever and Rashida Beal were named to the All-Big Ten Second Team, while freshmen April Bockin and Molly Fiedler were named to the All-Freshman Team.
The Big Ten also recognized 14 sportsmanship award honorees to include Gopher sophomore Kellie McGahn.
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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