Newcomer Spotlight: Abi Frandsen

TOUCH & GO

Major: plans to major in kinesiology
Favorite hobby: shopping or traveling
Favorite musical artist: Zac Brown Band, Lauren Daigle
Favorite TV show: Friends, Grey's Anatomy
Favorite pro team: Minnesota Wild, USWNT
Favorite athlete: Julie Ertz
Favorite actor/actress: Reese Witherspoon
Favorite meal: crab legs
Hidden talent: wake surfing
Biggest fear: snakes
Dream vacation spot: Turks and Caicos Islands
Sport you'd like to try: volleyball

With the start of the fall semester inching closer, Gopher Sports is sitting down with this year's newcomers on the Minnesota women's soccer team. The Gophers welcome six incoming freshmen to the fold this season, featuring players hailing from the Midwest to the Southeast.

Continuing this week, we have freshman forward Abi Frandsen of Monticello, Minn. As a four-year letterwinner for head coach Nathan Budish at Monticello High School, Frandsen earned a trio of First Team All-State accolades from 2017-19 while also being a four-time All-Conference honoree over the course of her career. In both 2018 and 2019, Frandsen was named the Mississippi 8 Conference MVP.

In addition to her success in the high school realm, Frandsen also competed for Minnesota Thunder Academy. In 2019, MTA ranked in the top-12 in the country in the Elite Clubs National League Champions League after finishing third overall in the ECNL Champions League in 2018.

GopherSports: Why did you choose the University of Minnesota?
Frandsen: "[Head coach Stef Golan] really puts an emphasis on the person that you are and not just the player. That was a really big thing for me going through the recruiting process. There's not many programs like that. The University of Minnesota was one of the first schools I toured and visited, and they really set the bar high. My heart was kind of set on it."

GS: When did you first start playing soccer and when did you know that you wanted to compete collegiately?
Frandsen: "Way back, I started when I was six or seven years old. Just the rec leagues in my hometown. Obviously, not super serious, so I wasn't thinking about college soccer at that point. I think just moving to different clubs and getting more serious about getting better as a player – at that point the sport was getting more serious for me and I was building on the passion that I had to continue to get better. The idea of college soccer really came into play when I was in eighth grade… going to college showcases and seeing college coaches on the sidelines made it super real for me."

GS: Being a Minnesota native, were you a Gopher fan growing up?
Frandsen: "My dad played hockey, baseball and football, so we just loved watching all those types of games. Growing up and always watching Gopher Hockey or Gopher Football kind of fed into that passion to play here. I always knew that the Gopher Soccer team was amazing and super successful. I remember going to the State Fair multiple times and the Gophers had a stand with all the sports and pictures and stuff like that. Just looking at the soccer pictures, I thought it was so cool. It's just a dream come true that now I'm in this place where little girls can be looking at my picture at the State Fair."

GS: What would you say is your biggest strength as a player?
Frandsen: "Speed and strength are two things that I really feed off of. I've never been a super technical player, but I think over the years I've worked really hard on that. I've really been working hard on putting in the extra time and the things coaches give me to work on. And then doing more than that, just to make sure I'm the best I can be coming into this fall freshman season."

GS: What is one thing you're hoping to improve on this year?
Frandsen: "Definitely my technical side. Like I said, I haven't always been a super technical player but that's one thing that I want to improve on and feel more comfortable taking touches out of the air and just being on the ball in general. As a person, just continuing to evolve and grow to be the best person I can be. Best person, best teammate and best player on the field that I can possibly be. Obviously, Gopher Soccer puts a huge emphasis on that, so I think I'm in a good place to grow and continue to be better so that I can have success after college."

GS: What is the most memorable moment of your soccer career so far?
Frandsen: "I have two. My club team was at Nationals… after freshman year, which was the prime recruiting time. We were at Nationals and we were playing a game and we were down by one goal and there were tons of coaches on the sidelines. I had a diving header goal off of a corner and I just go back to that moment. It was fantastic, hearing the results from coaches watching just knowing that hard work had paid off. Also, after sophomore year, my club team got to the ECNL Final Four for Nationals and we ended up taking third, so that was huge because no Minnesota club team had ever gotten that far."

GS: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?
Frandsen: "This isn't really a superstition, more like a habit. For my ponytail, I always do two ponytails in the top of the ponytail – one for the braid. And then I usually consistently wear the same color pre-wrap, which I go in sprints with what color, like right now it's pink. That might change, but that's kind of a random thing. Other than that, I just say a prayer before the game to keep me safe and help me just enjoy the game and all the experiences that I'm going to have."

GS: Who has been your biggest mentor or inspiration throughout your career?
Frandsen: "The biggest people that have supported me through everything are my parents. Even after a bad game, they're always there and always just telling me to get the next game and stuff. They've really helped me look on the positive side because I sometimes have a tendency to get down on myself when I have a bad game. During the recruiting process, it's really stressful, so it was just nice for them to be there for me and talk through stuff that I wanted to talk through, or just be a listening ear. They're my biggest supporters. They'll be at all the games that they can go to for college. Also my brother, he's been a big supporter. He's always been there for me and always just a good person to talk to."

GS: What advice do you have for aspiring youth athletes?
Frandsen: "Set your goals high. Have belief in what you can do and just know that really nothing is impossible. When I was in that position, I never thought that I would be in this position now. Also, being able to put in the work and having that drive to continue to put in that work consistently because in the end, it will pay off."

GS: What are your goals as Gopher Soccer player?
Frandsen: "For this year, I want to come in and just be able to make an impact. Honestly, whether that's on the field or off the field, just having a place on the team and knowing what my place is. Whether that's cheering people on or actually contributing on the field, I just want to be able to make a contribution to the success of the team. Other than that, some Big Ten titles would be great, too. In the end, that's what we all want… but also, just to continue to use these experiences to better me as a person so that I continue to succeed in life afterwards."

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Abi Frandsen