Minnesota Hosts Creighton in Season Opener

MINNEAPOLIS - Kicking off the season with the first event of the 2024-25 Gopher sports year, the University of Minnesota soccer team hosts Creighton on Thursday night at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. 2024 marks the fourth year Minnesota has been under the direction of Head Coach Erin Chastain and her staff.

Minnesota (0-0-0, 0-0-0 B1G) vs Creighton (0-0-0, 0-0-0 Big East)
Date: Aug. 15, 2024
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Stream: B1G+
Location: Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium

Scouting the Bluejays
Creighton heads to ELR with a new squad, and a new coach. Last November, the Bluejays hired Jimmy Walker after a successful run at Bowling Green State. Walker led the Falcons to a pair of Mid-American conference titles in four years, accumulating a 36-19-11 record.

Creighton was selected to finish seventh in the 2024 BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll. One Bluejay made the preseason All-BIG EAST Team, Azumi Manriki. A midfielder from Hiroshima, Japan, she was a Second Team All-BIG EAST selection last fall after pacing the Bluejays' offense and ranking sixth in the BIG EAST with 46 total shots. She contributed two goals and dished out an assist while logging 1,570 minutes of action over 18 contests

Last Time Out
Last September, Minnesota traveled to Omaha for a road show against Creighton. Despite the 0-0 draw, the Gophers outshot the Bluejays 14-10. Sophia Boman led the offense with three shots on frame. Kate Childers and Sophia Romine both registered two on goal.

Previewing the 2024 Season
The regular season begins this Thursday against Creighton at home, followed by three road matches at St. Thomas (Aug. 25), Milwaukee (Aug. 29), and Marquette (Sept. 1).

Minnesota will return to host Army (Sept. 5) and RV Brown (Sept. 8) before starting conference play.

The Gophers will begin its Big Ten slate on the road at Illinois (Sept. 12), and will be back at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium to host NDSU the following Sunday in its final non-conference game (Sept. 15).

Other Big Ten road contests include No. 19 Wisconsin (Sept. 22), No. 23 USC (Sept. 26), No. 11 UCLA (Sept. 29), Ohio State (Oct. 10), and No. 4 Penn State (Oct. 13).

Home conference games at ELR include Michigan (Sept. 19), Northwestern (Oct. 4), Maryland (Oct. 17), Indiana (Oct. 20), and No. 25 Iowa (Oct. 27).

Opportunity Awaits
Minnesota's schedule has been recognized as one of the most difficult. With the addition of USC and UCLA with the conference realignment, 10 of the Gophers' 20 opponents made the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Seven Big Ten schools received rankings in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll. Five are on Minnesota's 2024 slate, with only one of the contests (Iowa) being played at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.

All Eyes on Us
Three Gophers were named to the 2024 Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List on Tuesday. Sophia Boman, Khyah Harper, and Sophia Romine all received nods. This is Boman's fourth recognition, while it's Harper and Romine's first

Let's Get to Work
In addition to the Big Ten Players to Watch List announcement, the conference also released the Big Ten Conference Preseason Poll. The Gophers were selected to finish 14th out of 18 teams.

O Captain, My Captain!
Ahead of the season, fifth year Elizabeth Overberg and graduate Sophia Boman were named captains. This is Boman's third-straight season donning the captains band, while it's Overberg's first.

New Kids on the Block
Chastain and her staff welcomed seven freshmen this season, featuring four Minnesotans (Ashley Thurk, Avery Petty, Grace Estby, and Davy Mokelke) two North Carolinians (Aaryn Gabriel and Karson Yon) and one native German (Teresa Buonarotti).

Talent from the Portal
Three transfers have been added to the Gophers' roster in Katie Krohn, Evelyn Calhoon, and Ally Childers. Krohn comes to Minnesota after competing at Buffalo, where she earned All-MAC accolades as a freshman and sophomore. Calhoon brings an abundance of experience after a successful stint at Brown, competing in three NCAA Tournaments and earning two Ivy League Conference titles. Childers will join her younger sister, Kate, after competing at Michigan State for four seasons. Childers saw playing time when the Spartans won the Big Ten in 2022 and ended the season with a No. 6 national ranking.

SEMI-PRO-phers
Over the summer, multiple Gophers saw success on the pitch in the USL W League (United Soccer League Women's League) and WPSL (Women's Premier Soccer League).

Jelena Zbiljic finished her third season with Minnesota Aurora FC. Aurora went undefeated and won the Heartland Division for the third-straight regular season. With Aurora, Zbiljic reached the Central Conference Semifinals and fell to Indy Eleven.

Sophia Romine along with Kate and Ally Childers were rostered on Detroit City FC. The trio won the Great Lakes Division and hosted the conference semi and finals at their home field. Detroit City fell in the national semi final to the Colorado Storm.

Boman also saw action in the USL W League with Racing Louisville FC. Despite finishing fourth in the Valley Division, Boman saw action in seven matches.

Khyah Harper saw success with Salvo FC in the WPSL. Harper earned Central Region Player of the Week nods twice and WPSL National Player of the Week once. Harper capped off her summer season by earning the 2024 WPSL Golden Boot, an award given to the league's top goal scorer.

Ellis on Deck
Over the off season, Chastain announced the addition of assistant coach Ellis Riley.

Riley came to Minnesota after four years at San Diego as an assistant coach. With the Toreros, he focused on scouting, recruiting, and video analysis. During his time at San Diego, Riley brought in and developed the Toreros All-WCC Freshman Team honoree in Cameryn Maddox and single season save holder Sophine Kevorkian in 2022.

A native of Leeds, England, Riley began his soccer journey at the University of Jamestown in North Dakota. There, he earned a bachelor's degree in physical education with an emphasis in coaching while playing soccer for the Jimmies. Riley later earned his master's in physical education from Hastings College.

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Sophia Boman

Evelyn Calhoon

Ally Childers

Kate Childers

Grace Estby

Aaryn Gabriel

Khyah Harper

Katie Krohn

Davy Mokelke

Elizabeth Overberg

Avery Petty

Sophia Romine

Ashley Thurk

Karson Yon

Jelena Zbiljic