University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, February 25
Ann Arbor, MI
1:00 PM
University of Minnesota
0-1-1, 0-1-1
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at
2
Michigan
1-0-1, 1-0-1
1
2
F
Minnesota
0
0
0
Michigan
2
0
2
Gophers Drop Road Contest to Michigan
2/25/2021 3:34:00 PM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS – The Gopher Soccer program battled hard in their 2021 road opener against Michigan on Thursday afternoon, but ultimately came up short, 2-0.
Minnesota fell behind early, as Nicki Hernandez of Michigan snuck the ball past Minnesota goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen in the sixth minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines added to their advantage in the ninth minute, as Hernandez again found the back of the net to put Michigan up 2-0 with her second goal of the game.
Although there proved to be no further scoring thereafter, the Maroon & Gold had their fair share of chances on the offensive end. Minnesota held an advantage in shots (five-to-four), shots on goal (three-to-two) and corners (four-to-three) at the half. Sophia Boman, McKenna Buisman and Delaney Stekr had strong opportunities, with each putting excellent shots on target, but all were ultimately saved by Michigan goalkeeper Hillary Beall.
In the second half, Minnesota again out-shot Michigan, five-to-two, putting three shots on target to the Wolverines' zero. Overall, Minnesota finished the game with an edge in shots (10-to-six) and shots on goal (six-to-two), while holding even with Michigan with five corners.
For the second consecutive contest, Buisman paced the Gophers with four shots, including two shots on goal. Katie Duong and Athena Kuehn both had shots on goal in the second half as well.
Despite the loss, Thursday represented another solid defensive effort for the Maroon & Gold. After the two goals in the first nine minutes, the Gophers buckled down and produced 81 minutes of shutout play. The effort came on the heels of Minnesota holding Penn State scoreless for 110 total minutes this past Sunday.
Boman, Duong, Katie Koker, Kuehn, Stekr and Patricia Ward each started and played all 90 minutes for Minnesota.
Quotable
"I thought it was a really even game overall," head coach Stefanie Golan said. "We minimized the dangerous chances that they had and we created chances on the other end. I thought we had a couple players play particularly well, like there was a fire lit under them, trying to dig out an opportunity to win... The message after the game was continue to look at ways that we are getting a little bit better, but we've got to get more dangerous putting away opportunities and we have to make the decision that we want this, and that we're going to have a little bit of an edge to create that opportunity that wins the game."
Notable
Minnesota wraps up their first road trip of the 2021 season against Michigan State on Monday, March 1 at 8:30 a.m. CT.
Minnesota fell behind early, as Nicki Hernandez of Michigan snuck the ball past Minnesota goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen in the sixth minute to take a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines added to their advantage in the ninth minute, as Hernandez again found the back of the net to put Michigan up 2-0 with her second goal of the game.
Although there proved to be no further scoring thereafter, the Maroon & Gold had their fair share of chances on the offensive end. Minnesota held an advantage in shots (five-to-four), shots on goal (three-to-two) and corners (four-to-three) at the half. Sophia Boman, McKenna Buisman and Delaney Stekr had strong opportunities, with each putting excellent shots on target, but all were ultimately saved by Michigan goalkeeper Hillary Beall.
In the second half, Minnesota again out-shot Michigan, five-to-two, putting three shots on target to the Wolverines' zero. Overall, Minnesota finished the game with an edge in shots (10-to-six) and shots on goal (six-to-two), while holding even with Michigan with five corners.
For the second consecutive contest, Buisman paced the Gophers with four shots, including two shots on goal. Katie Duong and Athena Kuehn both had shots on goal in the second half as well.
Despite the loss, Thursday represented another solid defensive effort for the Maroon & Gold. After the two goals in the first nine minutes, the Gophers buckled down and produced 81 minutes of shutout play. The effort came on the heels of Minnesota holding Penn State scoreless for 110 total minutes this past Sunday.
Boman, Duong, Katie Koker, Kuehn, Stekr and Patricia Ward each started and played all 90 minutes for Minnesota.
Quotable
"I thought it was a really even game overall," head coach Stefanie Golan said. "We minimized the dangerous chances that they had and we created chances on the other end. I thought we had a couple players play particularly well, like there was a fire lit under them, trying to dig out an opportunity to win... The message after the game was continue to look at ways that we are getting a little bit better, but we've got to get more dangerous putting away opportunities and we have to make the decision that we want this, and that we're going to have a little bit of an edge to create that opportunity that wins the game."
Notable
- Minnesota finished the game with an advantage in shots (10-to-six) and shots on goal (six-to-two), while holding even with Michigan with five corners.
- With four shots (two on target) in today's game, McKenna Buisman now leads the Gophers with nine shots through the first two games of the season.
Minnesota wraps up their first road trip of the 2021 season against Michigan State on Monday, March 1 at 8:30 a.m. CT.
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Team Stats
MINN
MICH
Goals
0
2
Shots
10
6
Shots on Goal
6
2
Saves
0
6
Corners
5
5
Fouls
12
7
Scoring Plays
Nicki Hernandez (2)
Assisted By: Skylar Anderson
GOAL by MICH Hernandez, Nicki Assist by Anderson, Skylar.
06:36
Nicki Hernandez (2)
GOAL by MICH Hernandez, Nicki.
09:25
Game Leaders
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ SoccerForward
/ SoccerMidfielder
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ SoccerDefender
/ Soccer
Forward
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