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The Gopher soccer team defeated Maryland 6-0 Wednesday night and clinched a share of the Big Ten Regular Season Championship. The Gophers tied for the crown with Northwestern and Penn State, all who finished with 7-1-3 records in the Big Ten. It is the Gophers fourth Big Ten Regular Season Championship joining 1995, 1997 and 2008 as title years. The Gophers will receive the #1 seed in the Big Ten tournament due to the various tiebreakers and will host Indiana in the quarterfinals Sunday at 2:00 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
The Gophers got off to a fast start when Juliana Gernes scored on a cross from Josie Steiver just five minutes into the game. Sydney Squires scored her first goal of the match in the 40th minute on an unassisted run. She would add a second in the 72nd minute on a pass from Molly Fiedler. Fiedler would also assist on the Gophers third goal early in the second half by Nikki Albrecht. Kellie McGahn and Maya Rajacich also scored to complete the scoring for Minnesota.
The Gophers will be the #1 seed for the Big Ten Tournament after winning the tiebreaker by earning the most combined points in their matches with Northwestern and Penn State. The Gophers tied Penn State 1-1 in their Big Ten opener, and tied Northwestern 0-0 last Saturday. The Gophers will host #8 seed Indiana on Sunday, a team Minnesota beat 3-0 on the road earlier in the season. With a win, Minnesota would host the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals and Championship game at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium November 4th and 5th. Those matches will be televised live on BTN with the winner earning the Big Ten’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota should have a big to the tournament locked up regardless of how then perform in the Big Ten Tournament, but may be playing for home field advantage.
Congrats to the Gophers!!