University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Gophers Sweep Second Consecutive Weekend
9/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
 |
|  | |||||||||||||
| 3 | | 1 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MINNEAPOLIS - The No. 18 University of Minnesota women's soccer team continued their undefeated Big Ten streak and sixth straight win with a 3-1 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers on Sunday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
The Gophers are now 9-1-2 overall and 4-0-0 in conference play.
"Any time you can pull off a sweep on a weekend, it's a good weekend," said head coach Stefanie Golan. "Those three quality goals today were fantastic and it was a total team effort. Being undefeated in the Big Ten is a good place to be. I feel like we were really physically stretched from Friday, so for us to be able to rebound and then settle into this game I think was key."
The Maroon and Gold were the first to get on the board of the four goals from the game, as freshman April Bockin fired a shot from the right of the box for her second career goal.
"This has been a great weekend," said Bockin. "Even leading up to these games, we were playing really well in practice and we've all been getting really good opportunities in the game. It's nice to see everyone contributing, especially in goals."
The first two goals of the game were contributed by true freshman from both Minnesota and Indiana as two minutes after Bockin, Indiana's Caroline Dreher found Hanna Johnson to even things up.
Twenty-three minutes into play, junior co-captain Simone Kolander netted her seventh goal of the season off an assist from sophomore Maddie Gaffney. The initial shot hit the left post, but ricocheted into the net, bringing the score to 2-1 going into the half.
"Simone played spectacular today," said Golan. "She was involved on the attack, she was working her tail off defensively and I think she made a big difference for us. But also, we have so many other players that it's hard for teams to be able to zone in on and try to shut down just one player. A lot of our goals come from the ball movement, our speed of play and getting at the other team in the flanks. I don't know if other teams know what to do from that standpoint just because our goals can come from anywhere."
In the first half, the Gophers and Hoosiers were evenly matched up with their attempts as both notched four shots, two corner kicks and five fouls.
"Our whole attack is getting a lot better," said Kolander. "You saw in the beginning of the season that we were having trouble finishing. I think something just clicked with our offense and we've been moving the ball really well, creating a lot of opportunities and being in the right place at the right time."
Coming out of the locker room, the Gophers carried their momentum from the first half and aggresively fought on both sides of the ball to continue their score streak.
Fifteen minutes into the second half, junior Josee Stiever scored the final goal of the game, her second of the season, off an assist from freshman Molly Fiedler. Stiever's goal finalized the score at 3-1.
"With April and Josee, those are two players that really contribute a lot on the attacking end for us," said Golan. "For both of them to get on the board today was huge. Josee's goal really displayed her and Molly's composure. Molly especially - for a freshman in these kind of high pressure games, she's playing with a lot of maturity. We're having players step-up and it's really awesome to see."
Junior goalkeeper Tarah Hobbs made two key saves for the Gophers with the one allowed goal, bringing her record to 8-1-2 in the net.
On the night, the Gophers tallied eight shots, five corner kicks and seven fouls.
Of the Gophers' shots, Bockin tallied three, two of which were on frame and resulted in a goal, Kolander went two-for-two with shots on target with a goal, Stiever's lone attempt resulted in a point and senior co-captain Haley Helverson and sophomore Kellie McGahn also contributed one.
"I think we are really confident, especially with starting Big Ten play so strongly," said Bockin. "However, we know that Big Ten gets harder and harder as we get deeper into the season, so we just have to focus on the training and then bring it to the games."
"We've really come together, especially after those two huge wins last week," said Kolander. "Those really made a difference for us. Our coaches believe in us, we believe in us and we know that we are a good enough team to be in the Top 20. I think that knowledge and belief is what really has been pushing us. We know that every game is a winnable game if we come out and play the way we know we can."
LOOKING AHEAD
Up next, the Gophers hit the road to continue conference action as they face the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday, Oct. 2 at 6:00 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.
###
