Gophers Close out NCAA Postseason Run Falling to No. 4 UCLA, 5-0

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LOS ANGELES – Following a strong second half of the season, Minnesota soccer saw its 2018 season come to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a loss to No. 4-ranked UCLA. The host Bruins (16-3-1) used a three-goal first half effort to defeat the Gophers at Wallis Annenberg Stadium Friday evening, 5-0.

The Gophers end the season with a Big Ten tournament title to their name and an overall record of 12-9-2. Under Head Coach Stefanie Golan in her seventh season, this was the Gophers fourth NCAA postseason appearance as well as their second appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in the last four seasons.

"I'm really proud of this group and their ability to get to the final 32 teams playing this season," said Golan. "Unfortunately, we ran into a next level UCLA team tonight who has some insanely talented players. Giving up an early goal was tough, but I thought we made some good adjustments at halftime and battled hard to the end. They are a fantastic team and we wish them all the best moving forward. Our senior class has been a special class and has left an incredibly positive mark on this program that we will continue to build upon. We are forever grateful for their commitment to and investment in this program, and they have set a high standard for what it means to be a part of Gopher Soccer. They can be proud that they left the program better than they found it!"

UCLA struck first on the scoreboard finding the back of the net just four minutes in. Following a throw in UCLA's Chloe Castaneda used the damp playing surface to slip it past goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen. The host Bruins continued to be in the right place at the right time as in the 28th minute the Bruins scored on a rebound eight yards out. In the 35th minute, a ball all the way through the box found a Bruin head that then skipped past Nielsen as UCLA took a 3-0 lead into the break.

The Gophers took their first shot of the game in the 51st minute as Megan Gray's shot was just wide of the frame. Nikki Albrecht followed it up eight minutes later with a rocket shot from distance forcing the UCLA goalkeeper to hit the ground to make a diving save.

UCLA tacked on two more goals in the final 11 minutes to secure their advancement to the third round.

Nielsen recorded a career-high nine saves after facing 14 shots on goal. The back line of Emily Peterson, Nikki Albrecht, Athena Kuehn and Marisa Windingstad were able to draw UCLA offside three times.

SENIOR LEGACY
It can be tough to put into final words the legacy a senior class can leave, but there are many ways to describe Minnesota soccer's Class of 2018. Coming away with a pair of Big Ten Tournament titles, something that no other senior class has been able to accomplish in four seasons, they also led the Gophers to a pair of four-straight shutouts, a stretch that has only been done one other time in the past 10 seasons. Most notably they aided the Gophers to their first-ever NCAA postseason road victory after the win at Auburn on Nov. 9 by a score of 2-0.

Individually April Bockin wraps up her Minnesota career with her name in the record books. Bockin finishes her career ranked third in career assists (27), tied for eighth in points (79), tied for sixth in game-winning goals with nine and ninth all-time in shots with 180. From a single-season record stand point, Bockin finishes tied for ninth with 33 points, tied for fifth in game-winning goals (5) and ninth in shots (79).

Molly Fiedler will go in the record books with Bockin being tied fourth all-time with 26 career assists. Starting in every single game of her Minnesota career, Fiedler 87 starts is the second most in program history.

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