Gopher Soccer Review / Preview – Week 3

The Gophers traveled to the heat of the south for the Rebel Classic and came away a little burnt. Despite a great effort to #GIVEEVERYTHING, they lost their first match in double overtime and were not able to score enough goals in their second match. The Gophers now stand at 3-3-0 (0-0-0) on the season. Keep reading for a breakdown of the games and a preview of what will come next when they travel to Michigan for the Big Ten season opener.

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Review

Game 1: Friday, 9/5/2014 at Ole Miss (9:00 pm)

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The Gopher's entered the game against the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) (2-1-1, 0-0-0 SEC), after winning both of their games the week before including an upset at home over Marquette University. That momentum would carry over to this came when the Gophers held a two goal lead at during the second half with scores by #11 Josee Stiever (MF - SO) at the 55th minute and #2 Simone Kolander (F/MF - SO) at the 69th minute. Unfortunately this wouldn't last due to the excellent play of the Rebel's #20 Olivia Harrison (F/MF - JR) who would score three answered goals at the 78th, 82nd, 107th minute. The Gophers and the Rebels have played each other once before; in 2013 the Rebels lost to Minnesota 1-0 in Minnesota, that game also was decided in overtime. Read the official Gopher recap of the game here.

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Game 2: Sunday, 9/7/2014 vs Auburn (@ Ole Miss, Noon)

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After a day's break, the Gophers would try again against the Tigers from Auburn (5-1-0, 0-0-0 SEC), . The Tigers proved too much, defeating the Gophers 3-1. Tiger's player #8 Courtney Schell (MF/F - FR) got things off to a quick start by scoring the 18th minute. The Gophers would fight back, tying the game only 16 minutes later on a goal by #16 Rachel McCloskey (D/MF - FR). The rest of the game would be tight with no more scores until the final 12 minutes. In the last 12 minute period, the Tigers would score twice, first by #24 Brooke Ramsier (F - SO) at the 79 minute and by #22 Logan Beal (F - JR) at the 82' minute. Read the official Gopher recap of the game here.

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While not ranked at the start of the game, Auburn is now ranked #18 in the country. In both games, the Gophers would trail their opponents on shot on goal (17-12, 17-8) and corner kicks (8-1, 4-2). You can see the full NCAA rankings here.

Preview

The Golden Gophers will travel to the state of Michigan to open the Big Ten Season on Friday & Sunday. On Friday the will take on the #39 Wolverines in Ann Arbor (7:00 PM CST). After a day's break they will travel to East Lansing to face the #46 Spartans (11:00 AM CST on BTN Plus). The Michigan Wolverines are 4-2-0 (0-0-0) while the MSU Spartans are 6-0-0 (0-0-0). The Wolverines may two loses were both shutouts and came against San Diego and San Diego State, both of whom shutout the Wolverines (5-0 & 3-0). Against other opponents the Wolverines are 4-0 outscoring their opponents 11-0. The Spartans actually beat San Diego State so I'm not sure why they have fewer votes than Michigan. MSU has outscored their opponents 14-4, but did take them two overtimes to win their last game against Western Michigan. These games will be a challenge but the Gophers can beat them as long as the #GIVEEVERYTHING. Ski-U-Mah!

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