The Chastain Era Begins with Baylor, UIC Coming to ELR

MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota soccer program officially begins its 2021 campaign this weekend as the Gophers host Baylor and the University of Illinois - Chicago at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. First-year head coach Erin Chastain will make her debut on the sideline on August 19 against Baylor at 6 p.m. and then will host the Flames on August 22 at 1 p.m. Both matches can be streamed on BTN+ with the broadcast team of Matt Privratsky and Josee Stiever, a Gopher soccer alum.

LAST TIME OUT - THE GOPHERS IN THE 2021 PRESEASON
In a pair of exhibition contests during the 2021 preseason the Gophers outscored their opponents 11-0 with one match on the road and the other being played at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. The Maroon and Gold have now won seven straight exhibition matches dating back to 2017 and haven't lost an exhibition since the team started having one yearly in 2010.

THIS IS HOME
First-year head coach Erin Chastain officially returned home when the University of Minnesota announced her hiring in July of 2021. Chastain rejoins Minnesota with more than 20 years of coaching experience, which includes the last 14 as head coach at DePaul. Chastain, who was a four-year starter and three-year captain for the Gophers in the 1990s, is the fifth head coach in program history.

Chastain (then Hussey) was a four-year starter at Minnesota from 1993-96 and three-year captain for the Gophers. She played in all 82 matches during her career and ranks seventh in program history in points (83), eighth in goals (29), tied for seventh in assists (25) and is tied for sixth in game-winning goals (10). She earned second team All-Big Ten honors in 1995 and was a first team honoree in 1996. She helped lead Minnesota to the 1995 Big Ten Championship and NCAA tournament berths in 1995 and 1996.

SEASON-OPENING SUCCESS
Since 2013 the Gophers have defended their home field well in their season openers, holding a 6-1-1 record during that span. In that nine year span Minnesota has outscored their opponents 14-3 while securing five clean sheets. For Chastain, her DePaul program defended its home field similarly during season opening action holding a record of 5-2-2 over the past nine seasons with the Blue Demons outscoring their opponents 17-8 in those matches.

SCOUTING BAYLOR
Baylor enters its season opening matchup with Minnesota after wrapping up a 1-1-0 record in a pair of exhibition matchups. The Bears dropped a 2-0 decision to Texas A&M on the road while they picked up a 5-0 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at home. The Bears preseason star was Taylor Moon, who scored a hat trick in their lone preseason win. Moon has logged eight goals in her career while being named to the All-Big 12 Second Team in 2020. In net during the preseason was a trio of goalkeepers in Jennifer Wandt, Lauren Traywick and Alyssa Navarrete. The starting job likely comes down to Navarrete and Wandt as Wandt is a returning All-Big 12 Second Team member in 2020 while Navarrette comes in as a transfer from Georgetown after leading the country in goals against average at 0.25.

The Aug. 19 matchup between Minnesota and Baylor is just the third time the pair have clashed on the soccer pitch. The 2021 matchup in the Twin Cities is the first time since 2005 with the Gophers holding a 1-0-1 against the Bears. Minnesota's lone win came back in 1997 when the Maroon and Gold, who were ranked No. 23 at the time, claimed a 3-0 win.

SCOUTING THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS - CHICAGO
The 2021 campaign will be just the eighth season of Division I soccer for the Flames of the University of Illinois - Chicago. The Flames are coming off a 2020-21 season where they finished with a record of 5-3-1 and will return a bulk of their offensive firepower with Grace Setter (three goals, one assist) and Kaitlyn Montague (five assists) leading the way. UIC's 2021 season will begin on August 19 with a matchup with Wake Forest on the road followed by the Aug. 22 matchup with the Gophers, which is the first contest between the two programs. In goal the Flames will likely send out graduate student Lena Kurz to start despite three goalkeepers seeing action during preseason action. Kurz has played 26 matches in her career and holds a 0.73 goals against average with 93 career saves and a record of 16-8-2.

The Flames welcome a new head coach to the sidelines in 2021 with David Nikolic taking over. The Flames bring back eight starters from last year's roster along with 13 letter winners. The team split their preseason exhibitions by earning a 1-0 win over Southern Illinois while dropping a match with Loyola by a score of 2-1.

STEKR, GRAY AND BOMAN NAMED BIG TEN PLAYERS TO WATCH
Three individuals from the Gophers were named to the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List, announced by the conference office on August 16. Delaney Stekr, Megan Gray and Sophia Boman were named, all firsts for the trio.

Stekr, who was a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree last season, has appeared in 27 matches for the Gophers in her career and has started in 21 of those matches as a defender. Gray enters the 2021 season with 54 matches played with the Maroon and Gold. She's scored three goals in her career including one in Gophers last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2018. Boman rounds off the Gophers honorees after a stellar freshman campaign where she was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Last year Boman scored two goals and had one assist while starting all 12 matches.

In addition, the conference released the 2021 Big Ten Coaches' Poll where Minnesota found itself sitting 10th among the conference's 14 teams.

NOT YOUR TYPICAL 3-4-3 FORMATION
Viewers of the Minnesota soccer program likely will see a family affair on the field when sisters Sadie and Khyah Harper hit the field this season. Khyah, who wears No. 34, joins her sister Sadie, who wears No. 43, in the Maroon and Gold after a stellar career at Centennial High School in Lino Lakes, Minn. Both are able to play as forwards while Sadie has seen time as a midfielder as well.

UP NEXT
The Gophers will have just one opponent next week following a busy first week of action at ELR. The Maroon and Gold will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, on August 26, at 6 p.m., to take on the Drake Bulldogs. The Gophers hold a 3-1-0 advantage over the Bulldogs with the last meeting in 2006 ending in a 3-0 victory for Minnesota.

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Players Mentioned

Sophia Boman

Megan Gray

Khyah Harper

Delaney Stekr