Strong Second Half Lifts Gophers to Comeback Win Over Utah State, 2-1

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LOGAN, Utah – A two goal second half effort lifted Minnesota soccer over Utah State Sunday afternoon, 2-1. The Gophers saw goals from senior Maddie Castro and freshman McKenna Buisman in the final 22 minutes to close out the opening weekend of play in comeback fashion.

"Sundays are tough, especially on the road. To come away with two hard earned wins on opening weekend says a lot about this team's character," said Head Coach Stefanie Golan. "We had a lot of different people step up this weekend and every one of our players had a part in each of these wins. The energy from our bench today was fantastic and helped the players on the field grind it out. We learned a lot about this group and got a little better & stronger this weekend. We earned two team wins this weekend to open up 2018 and we are proud of our team."

With their backs against the wall at the break trailing 1-0, despite leading in shots 11-1, Minnesota used a steady offensive attack to break through in the final 45 minutes.
The Gophers continued to pile on the shots until finally breaking through in the 69th minute. Molly Fiedler collected an assist playing it perfectly to Castro from 12 yards out. Wasting no time firing one to the back of the net Castro tied the match up at a goal apiece.

The 1-1 tie did not last long as Castro played a ball off her chest before feeding it to TJ McKendrick. Taking a touch to control, McKendrick sent a perfect cross to Buisman whose header was placed perfectly between the posts in the 77th minute for her first collegiate goal.

Breaking the early stalemate, Utah State struck first capitalizing on their first shot of the match in the 26th minute. Utah State's Ashley Cardozo broke past the Gophers back line as starting goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen came out to challenge the play. With the ball deflecting off a Minnesota defender, Sara Noel collected it for the Aggies firing it to the back of the net.

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