Gophers Take to the Road for Weekend Matchup vs. Iowa

Sunday, March 14
Iowa vs. Minnesota
Time: 12:00 p.m. CT
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Watch: BTN+

Coming off of an excellent week of play in which Minnesota went 2-0-1 against a trio of Big Ten opponents, the Gophers are back in action this weekend in the form of a Sunday road contest at Iowa. After defeating Michigan State and Northwestern last week paired with a home draw versus Illinois, the Maroon & Gold are now 2-1-2 on the season and sit in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference standings.

SERIES HISTORY
Minnesota and Iowa have faced off 22 times in the history of the two programs, with the Gophers currently possessing a 13-5-4 advantage in the all-time series. In the most recent matchup, the Hawkeyes defeated the Gophers in a 2019 tilt at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, 2-1. However, in the three previous matchups, Minnesota delivered three consecutive shutout victories. Since head coach Stefanie Golan took the reins in 2012, the Gophers have outscored the Hawkeyes, 11-6.

SCOUTING THE HAWKEYES
Iowa enters this Sunday's showdown with a 0-4-1 record on the season. The Hawkeyes' lone tie came against Michigan on March 4, while their losses have come at the hands of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Northwestern. Overall, Iowa has been outscored 8-0 this year.

LAST TIME OUT
When the Maroon & Gold last took the field, the end result was a 0-0 double-overtime draw against visiting Illinois. In the two games prior, however, Minnesota secured signature victories against Northwestern and Michigan State.

In the Northwestern game, the Gophers used Katie Koker's first career goal as a Gopher to reach overtime, before Sadie Harper netted the game winner in the 96^th minute. Both goals were assisted by Katie Duong.

As for Michigan State, the lone goal in the 1-0 victory came off the foot of Harper, who put the Gophers ahead in the 41^st minute. Goalkeeper Megan Plaschko produced a shutout with two saves in the win, playing all 297 minutes in the Maroon & Gold's trio of games.

KOKER, PLASCHKO GARNER B1G HONORS
On the heels of Minnesota's 2-0-1 record during the Week of March 1-7, Koker was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week while Plaschko received Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Koker is Minnesota's first Defensive Player of the Week since Tarah Hobbs received the honor on Sept. 27, 2016. Plaschko represents the Maroon & Gold's first-ever Goalkeeper of the Week, as the award was only introduced in 2018.

Koker helped power the Gopher defense to shutouts of both Michigan State and Illinois, while also scoring a crucial goal against Northwestern to help lift the team to a 2-1 overtime win. She played 245 minutes across Minnesota's three games last week.

Meanwhile, Plaschko played all 296 minutes in goal for the Gophers last week, allowing just one goal to find the back of the net and making six saves. In doing so, she produced the first two shutouts of her collegiate career, as her first collegiate start came against Michigan State on March 1.

STRONG ON D
Through five games, Minnesota has surrendered just three goals (0.6 goals allowed per game) and delivered three shutouts as a team (Nebraska, Michigan State, Illinois). During that time, the Gophers have limited their opponents to just 24 shots (4.8 shots per game) while producing 81 shots of their own. Dating back to last season, Minnesota has now registered shutouts in four out of their last seven games.

TEAM LEADERS
After scoring against both Michigan State and Northwestern, Harper leads the Maroon & Gold with two goals so far this season, placing her tied for eighth in the Big Ten leaderboards. Additionally, Duong currently paces the team with two assists to her credit, which ranks tied for fifth in the conference.

SHOTS APPLENTY
Minnesota's 81 shots and 16.2 shots per game currently lead the Big Ten. Meanwhile, the team's 30 shots on goal and six shots on goal per game each rank fourth in the conference. Individually, McKenna Buisman and Sophia Boman have produced the most shots for the U with 18 and 12, respectively. Buisman ranks third in the Big Ten in that department, while Boman ranks 10^th.

GOING THE DISTANCE
Four Gophers have played all 497 minutes for Minnesota so far this season: Boman, Duong, Athena Kuehn and Delaney Stekr.

GOLAN BECOMES LONGEST-TENURED GOPHER HEAD SOCCER COACH
With the 2020-21 campaign officially underway, head coach Stefanie Golan has now been at the helm of the program longer than any head coach in program history. Now in her ninth season with the Gophers, Golan has compiled an 89-61-23 (.518) record, won one B1G Regular Season Championship and two B1G Tournament Championships. Mikki Denney Wright (2004-11) is the only other Minnesota soccer coach to lead the program for at least eight seasons.

UP NEXT
Following Sunday's game against Iowa, the Gophers will compete in two additional road contests against Penn State (March 18) and Rutgers (March 21). Minnesota's game against Penn State will air on BTN at 3 p.m. CT, while the Maroon & Gold's matchup with Rutgers will stream live on BTN+ at 11 a.m. CT.

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Players Mentioned

Sophia Boman

McKenna Buisman

Katie Duong

Sadie Harper

Katie Koker

Athena Kuehn

Megan Plaschko

Delaney Stekr