The Big Ten Soccer Tournament doesn’t get the media coverage or edge-of-the-seat attention of its women’s basketball counterpart. But for the players and coaches involved, the emotion and intensity on the field are unparalleled.
It’s easy to see why. It’s now a three-game season for the Gophers and the rest of the conference, with few guarantees for success. Wisconsin, Penn State and Minnesota are the odds-on favorites to leave Columbus, Ohio, with a championship trophy, but most coaches and players agree the Big Ten is a much-improved league.
And regardless of a team’s regular season record, three wins means the title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
“It’s all up in the air,” Gophers coach Sue Montagne said. “All of the teams — one through eight — are going to be tough; I don’t expect any blowouts.”
Minnesota’s first-round opponent is Northwestern, against whom the Gophers squeaked out a narrow 1-0 victory Sept. 27.
The game remained scoreless until the 79-minute mark, when senior Erin Hussey took a crossing pass from freshman Nicole Lee and scored the game-winner.
But the Wildcats gave Minnesota fits late in the game when they pulled their defensive stopper for another forward.
The Gophers and freshman goalkeeper Dana Larson — in her first start — withstood the pressure and won their first Big Ten game of the season.
“(This weekend) we’re just going to play our game,” Montagne said. “Maybe a little more intensity, but nothing really different.”
Minnesota began the conference schedule 1-2, with losses to eventual regular-season champion Wisconsin and second-place Penn State. But the Gophers rallied with four straight Big Ten wins against Michigan State (2-1), Michigan (4-2), Indiana (2-1) and Ohio State (1-0).
Season-ending injuries to key players slowed the Gophers early in the season, but they were bolstered by pleasantly surprising performances from Hussey (11 points and nine assists, both career highs) and Lee, who started quick but faded as the season wore on. Still, Lee finished with eight goals, tying her with Penn State’s Kelly Covey for the conference lead among freshmen.
Montagne said the players are excited about the opportunity to defend their Big Ten title. But she warned that “teams will try to knock us off,” and the Gophers will have to step up their game to counter the adrenaline rush that comes with playing top teams.
“It’s more of a mind-set thing,” Montagne said. “We want to defend our championship, and others want to take our place. We just have to keep playing tough soccer.
“It’s three-up and three-down. If we focus on the game for a full 90 minutes, we’ll be tough to beat.”
With the exception of early injuries to Minnesota’s career leading scorer Jennifer Walek, sophomore defender Noelle Papenhausen and sophomore forward Jaime O’Gara — all received medical redshirts from the NCAA and will return next season — the Gophers have remained relatively injury free.
Vanessa Touset is still struggling with a bruised kidney, Montagne said, and her participation in the tournament will be determined on a day-to-day basis. Jamie Wyffels’ hip injury is also improving, and she’s expected to play this weekend.
Montagne said the team would have preferred to head into the postseason on a high note, but that they have put their tough 2-1 loss to Evansville behind them.
“The players have realized they just need to blow it off,” she said. “We’re in the Big Ten Championships now, and we need to concentrate on that.”