The University of Minnesota soccer team travels to No. 8 Ohio State and No. 20 Penn State this week for its final regular season road trip of 2024. The Buckeyes (9-1-3, 4-0-2 B1G) are seated at fifth in the Big Ten while the Nittany Lions (6-2-1, 3-2-1 B1G) are in seventh.

Minnesota (8-2-3, 2-2-2 B1G) vs No. 8 Ohio State (9-1-3, 4-0-2 B1G)
Date: Oct. 10
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Stream: B1G+
Location: Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium

Minnesota (8-2-3, 2-2-2 B1G) vs No. 20 Penn State
Date: Oct. 13
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Stream: B1G+
Location: Jeffrey Field

Scouting the Buckeyes
Last week in Ohio State’s 3-0 win over Maryland, head coach Lori Walker-Hock recorded her 300th career win as head coach of the Buckeyes. Walker-Hock is a three-time Big Ten Coach of the Year and has guided the program to all 17 of its NCAA Tournament appearances. This season, the Buckeyes have started the year 9-1-3 overall, which is one of their best starts in program history.

Senior Kailyn Dudukovich leads Ohio State with 12 goals and one assist. The forward has had three multi-goal games this season and has finished in eight games. Dudukovich has earned B1G Offensive Player of the Week twice this season (Aug. 27, Oct. 1)

Scouting the Nittany Lions
Before hosting Minnesota, Penn State will face Maryland on Thursday in College Park. Last week, the Nittany Lions grabbed a 1-0 win over Nebraska and tied with Rutgers, 1-1, at Jeffrey Field.

Native Minnesotan Kaitlyn MacBean leads Penn State with 11 goals and one assist. Three other Nittany Lions have recorded three goals this season. As a team, they’ve finished 28 goals, tied for second in the Big Ten.

Last Time Out
In 2023, Minnesota continued its current win streak over the Buckeyes with a 2-0 win at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Izzy Brown and Sadie Harper both recorded a goal to go 3-0 over Ohio State in Minnesota’s last three meetings, dating back to 2019.

Sunday’s match will be the first between Penn State and Minnesota since the 2021 season. Three years ago, the Gophers defeated the Nittany Lions 4-1 at home. Prior to the loss, Penn State held onto a two-game win streak.

Undefeated at Home
On Friday Minnesota tied the Northwestern Wildcats, continuing its undefeated 2024 home record. The Gophers are 4-0-2 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Minnesota has only tied Northwestern and Brown with wins over Creighton, Army, NDSU, and Michigan.

Top Scorers
This weekend, Minnesota will face two of the nation’s top forwards in Ohio State’s Dudukovich and Penn State’s MacBean. The Gophers’ own Khyah Harper continues to lead the NCAA with 13 goals. Dudukovich ranks third in the nation and second in the Big Ten with 12 goals while MacBean is ranked fifth nationally and third in the conference with 11.

Spreading the Wealth
11 Gophers have recorded at least one point this season, including all starters except for goalkeeper Sarah Martin. Minnesota’s backline in Elizabeth Overberg, Ashley Thurk, and Jelena Zbiljic have all recorded an assist. Center back Kate Childers leads the backline with two points, following her first career goal she scored against UCLA. All of Minnesota’s starters on offense have at least four points. Harper leads the way with 29 while Sophia Romine and Paige Kalal have nine so far.

She’s Just Living that Life
Khyah Harper continues to lead the nation in multiple stat categories. Harper ranks first in goals per game (1.00) and total goals (13), tied with California’s Karlie Lema. She’s seated second nationally in points per game (2.23), total points, (29), and game-winning goals (5).

Milestone Hit
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 7,001:32 minutes in her career as a Gopher. Currently, the midfielder has 24 consecutive matches (dating back to last season) that she has competed for a full 90 minutes. The Minnesota native has started all 78 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 stock photo courtesy of Gopher Sports)

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