University of Minnesota Athletics
Monday, March 1
East Lansing, MI
8:30 AM
University of Minnesota
1-1-1, 1-1-1
1
at
0
Michigan State
1-1-1, 1-1-1
1
2
F
Minnesota
1
0
1
Michigan St.
0
0
0
Gophers Take Down Spartans on the Road
3/1/2021 11:15:00 AM | Soccer
MINNEAPOLIS – The Minnesota Soccer program delivered their first victory of the spring 2021 season on Monday morning, defeating Michigan State on the road, 1-0. With the win, the Gophers improve to 1-1-1 on the campaign.
After being held scoreless in the first two games of the year, the Maroon & Gold came out firing on all cylinders offensively in the first half. The Gophers jumped out to an eight-to-zero shot advantage in the first 35 minutes of play, including a five-to-zero edge in shots on target.
Finally, in the 41st minute, Minnesota's relentlessness paid off as Sadie Harper put the Gophers up, 1-0, with the team's first goal of the season. Harper received an excellent cross into the box from Sophia Boman, with Harper's initial shot being blocked before she regained the ball and fired it into the back of the net with her left foot. Boman was credited with the assist, marking the first point of her college career.
Minnesota entered the half with a dominant advantage in shots (11-to-zero), shots on goal (six-to-zero) and corners (seven-to-zero).
Although the second half proved to be more competitive, neither team was able to score as Minnesota finished off a shutout of Michigan State. The two teams were even in both shots (five) and shots on goal (two) in the second half, as goalkeeper Megan Plaschko went a perfect two-for-two in saving both Spartan shots on target.
It was a day filled with career breakthroughs for Plaschko, who delivered her first collegiate shutout in her first-ever start on Monday. By blanking the Spartans with a pair of saves, Plaschko has produced 200 minutes of scoreless play with five total saves to open the season.
Overall, the Gophers commanded a significant edge in shots (16-to-five), shots on goal (eight-to-two) and corner kicks (11-to-two) by the time it was all said and done.
For the third straight game to open the season, McKenna Buisman paced Minnesota in shots with five, including three on target. Abi Frandsen also put all three of her shots in the game on goal, while Celina Nummerdor was credited with one shot on target as well. Harper registered three shots on the day, with her lone attempt on target representing the aforementioned game winner in the 41st minute.
Boman, Katie Duong, Athena Kuehn, Plaschko and Delaney Stekr each started and played all 90 minutes for Minnesota. Kuehn, Stekr, Ward and Katie Koker held down the back line for much of the game to pave the way for the Gopher shutout, while Alana Dressely and Eva Bruer chipped in valuable defensive minutes as well.
Quotable
"Our system matched up really well against theirs and we were finding ourselves in really good pockets to go from inside-out and back in a little bit," head coach Stefanie Golan said. "We were able to get it behind, we were able to break through, we were able to get around, so we had success in a variety of ways. On the flip side of that, defensively, again our system matched up really well against theirs and they had a really hard time connecting more than a couple passes before it turned over to us. Our defensive discipline and organization coupled with our attacking mindset today is really what put us on the front foot there in the first half... We're excited that we have a win. We're excited that we got the result. We're excited about the shutout, but it's how do we continue to raise our standard and continue for both the ceiling and the floor to raise from game to game."
"It felt amazing to be able to put the team up and give us a lead," Harper said. "I think today was the best offensive game of our year so far. We were finding a lot of different ways to get the ball to the net and it was really promising to see."
Notable
Minnesota returns home for their next two games, hosting Northwestern (March 4) and Illinois (March 6) this upcoming week. Both games will be streamed live on BTN+.
After being held scoreless in the first two games of the year, the Maroon & Gold came out firing on all cylinders offensively in the first half. The Gophers jumped out to an eight-to-zero shot advantage in the first 35 minutes of play, including a five-to-zero edge in shots on target.
Finally, in the 41st minute, Minnesota's relentlessness paid off as Sadie Harper put the Gophers up, 1-0, with the team's first goal of the season. Harper received an excellent cross into the box from Sophia Boman, with Harper's initial shot being blocked before she regained the ball and fired it into the back of the net with her left foot. Boman was credited with the assist, marking the first point of her college career.
Minnesota entered the half with a dominant advantage in shots (11-to-zero), shots on goal (six-to-zero) and corners (seven-to-zero).
Although the second half proved to be more competitive, neither team was able to score as Minnesota finished off a shutout of Michigan State. The two teams were even in both shots (five) and shots on goal (two) in the second half, as goalkeeper Megan Plaschko went a perfect two-for-two in saving both Spartan shots on target.
It was a day filled with career breakthroughs for Plaschko, who delivered her first collegiate shutout in her first-ever start on Monday. By blanking the Spartans with a pair of saves, Plaschko has produced 200 minutes of scoreless play with five total saves to open the season.
Overall, the Gophers commanded a significant edge in shots (16-to-five), shots on goal (eight-to-two) and corner kicks (11-to-two) by the time it was all said and done.
For the third straight game to open the season, McKenna Buisman paced Minnesota in shots with five, including three on target. Abi Frandsen also put all three of her shots in the game on goal, while Celina Nummerdor was credited with one shot on target as well. Harper registered three shots on the day, with her lone attempt on target representing the aforementioned game winner in the 41st minute.
Boman, Katie Duong, Athena Kuehn, Plaschko and Delaney Stekr each started and played all 90 minutes for Minnesota. Kuehn, Stekr, Ward and Katie Koker held down the back line for much of the game to pave the way for the Gopher shutout, while Alana Dressely and Eva Bruer chipped in valuable defensive minutes as well.
Quotable
"Our system matched up really well against theirs and we were finding ourselves in really good pockets to go from inside-out and back in a little bit," head coach Stefanie Golan said. "We were able to get it behind, we were able to break through, we were able to get around, so we had success in a variety of ways. On the flip side of that, defensively, again our system matched up really well against theirs and they had a really hard time connecting more than a couple passes before it turned over to us. Our defensive discipline and organization coupled with our attacking mindset today is really what put us on the front foot there in the first half... We're excited that we have a win. We're excited that we got the result. We're excited about the shutout, but it's how do we continue to raise our standard and continue for both the ceiling and the floor to raise from game to game."
"It felt amazing to be able to put the team up and give us a lead," Harper said. "I think today was the best offensive game of our year so far. We were finding a lot of different ways to get the ball to the net and it was really promising to see."
Notable
- Minnesota recorded their second shutout in just three games to start the season. The Gophers have now held their opponents scoreless in three out of their last five games dating back to 2019.
- Megan Plaschko earned her first career shutout in the first start of her collegiate career. The sophomore has not allowed a goal through 200 minutes so far this season, owning five saves.
- Sophomore Sadie Harper scored Minnesota's first goal of the spring 2021 season in the 41st minute. Monday's goal marked the third of Harper's career.
Minnesota returns home for their next two games, hosting Northwestern (March 4) and Illinois (March 6) this upcoming week. Both games will be streamed live on BTN+.
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Team Stats
MIN
MSU
Goals
1
0
Shots
16
5
Shots on Goal
8
2
Saves
2
6
Corners
11
2
Fouls
10
6
Scoring Plays
Sadie Harper (1)
Assisted By: Sophia Boman
off blocked shot to lower left corner
41:20
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
5
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Soccer
Forward
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Midfielder
/ SoccerForward
/ SoccerForward
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Defender
/ Soccer
Midfielder/Forward
/ Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Soccer
Defender
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