The University of Minnesota soccer team (8-1-1, 2-1-0 B1G) continues on the road this week, as they look ahead to face No. 24 USC (7-1-1, 3-0-0 B1G) on Thursday night and UCLA (8-2-1, 3-0-0 B1G) on Sunday afternoon. The games mark the first time in program history the Golden Gophers will face their west coast foes as members of the newly aligned Big Ten conference.
Minnesota (8-1-1, 2-1-0 B1G) vs No. 24 USC (7-1-1, 3-0-0 B1G)
Date: Sept. 26
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Stream: B1G+
Location: Dignity Health Sports Park
Minnesota (8-1-1, 2-1-0 B1G) vs. RV (receiving votes) UCLA (8-2-1, 3-0-0 B1G)
Date: Sept. 29
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Stream: B1G+
Location: Wallis Annenberg Stadium
Scouting the Trojans
Thursday evening’s match will be USC’s home opener. The Trojans have yet to compete on their turf this season, but have posted a 7-1-1 record. USC has now collected three-straight shutout wins against Big Ten opponents. They’ve blanked Washington (1-0), Purdue (1-0), and Indiana (2-0).
Three Trojans have finished at least two goals this season, while Kayla Colbert and Maile Hayes have each scored three. Laurence Gladu has been the starting goalkeeper for USC, picking up three clean sheet wins and posting a 82.4 save percentage.
Jane Alukonis enters her third season leading the Trojans after spending four seasons as an assistant at UCLA where she helped lead the Bruins to two Pac-12 Championships and an NCAA College Cup appearance.
Scouting the Bruins
UCLA began its first official season in the Big Ten 3-0-0, with wins over Oregon (2-1), Indiana (1-0), and Purdue (2-0). On Thursday the Bruins host Wisconsin in its Big Ten home opener at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
Junior Sofia Cook was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. The midfielder scored the game-winning goals in UCLA’s road victories at Indiana and Purdue. She’s scored three goals this season, all game winners.
Margueritte Aozasa enters her third season at the helm of the UCLA women’s soccer program. She made history in 2022 being the first rookie head coach and first woman of color ever to win the NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer championship.
Last Time Out
Minnesota has competed against USC just once in program history back in 2012. The Gophers traveled to Los Angeles and beat the Trojans, 4-1. Thursday’s game marks the first official Big Ten conference match up between the two schools.
Sunday’s match will be the second meeting between Minnesota and UCLA. In 2018, the Gophers traveled to the west coast after earning an NCAA Tournament berth. That season, Minnesota won the Big Ten soccer tournament in penalty kicks over Penn State. The Gophers fell to the Bruins in the first round, 5-0.
Hat Trick Harper
On Thursday, Khyah Harper finished her third hat trick of the season. She is the first Gopher since Taylor Uhl in 2012 to finish three in a season. Harper now leads the nation in game-winning goals (5) and goals per game (1.20). She sits in second nationally in points per game (2.70), total goals (12), and total points (27).
Shutout Sarah
Goalkeeper Sarah Martin earned her fourth shutout of the season on Thursday night in Minnesota’s 3-0 win over Michigan. Martin has notched three clean sheets in Minnesota’s last four matches. The Champlin Park, Minn., native allowed her first goal on Sunday at Wisconsin in 290 minutes of play.
Milestone Hit
On Thursday, Erin Chastain hit a career milestone in the Gophers’ win over the Wolverines: 150 career victories. Chastain began her head coaching career at DePaul in 2007. While leading the Blue Demons, Chastain compiled a 119-113-34 record. She led DePaul to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2013 and 2014.
Minute by Minute
Graduate captain Sophia Boman has totaled 5,521 minutes in her career as a Gopher. Currently, the midfielder has 21 consecutive matches (dating back to last season) that she has competed for a full 90 minutes. The Minnesota native has started all 62 matches since her freshman season and has competed in every game fully except for nine. In total, Boman has only missed 154 minutes on the field.
(info and photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)
