The back-and-forth matchup didn’t end on a good note for the Gophers on Sunday.
Indiana (7-5-2, 3-4-0) came out on top and defeated Minnesota (8-6-1, 4-3-1) 3-2 in the Gophers’ first road loss of the season.
Forward Patricia Ward said Minnesota couldn’t adapt to Indiana’s direct style of play.
“We were struggling to find our own rhythm,” Ward said. “They had a good fight to win it down the stretch.”
Ward scored in the 74th minute, giving the Gophers a 2-1 lead. It was Ward’s second goal of the season and first since Aug. 17.
The Hoosiers responded with two goals in less than three minutes. In the 84th minute, defender Meghan Scott beat Minnesota goalkeeper Maddie Nielsen for her first goal of the season. Forward Mykayla Brown scored the match-winning goal in the 85th minute. It was Brown’s sixth goal of the season.
Head coach Stefanie Golan said the match displayed a contrast in style.
“We want to keep the game on the ground and play through the midfield where we can,” Golan said. “Indiana was direct. It puts a lot of miles on the legs of our backs.”
Late goal lifts Gophers to victory
Midfielder Celina Nummerdor chose the right time to score her second goal of the season.
Nummerdor’s strike in the 70th minute was the match-winning goal as Minnesota defeated Purdue (6-5-3, 1-4-2) 2-1 on Friday night in West Lafayette, Indiana. Minnesota has not lost to Purdue since Golan became head coach six years ago — the Gophers have won seven straight matches against the Boilermakers.
Nummerdor said the match wasn’t the most pretty or entertaining to watch.
“We fought hard,” Nummerdor said. “We took advantage [of every moment] and fought with a lot of grit.”
Forward April Bockin opened the scoring in the 25th minute, beating Purdue goalkeeper Katie Luce for her fifth goal of the season.
Purdue answered in the second half. Midfielder Kylie Hase scored her seventh goal of the season in the 52nd minute to even the score at 1-1.
Minnesota’s next match will be against Wisconsin (10-2-3, 4-1-3) at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in a rematch of the 2017 Big Ten quarterfinal. Wisconsin defeated Minnesota in the game 2-0.
Golan said Minnesota can’t give in to Wisconsin’s strategy on Saturday.
“We can’t let them dictate the match into a physical confrontation,” she said. “We’ve got to move the ball quicker. We’ve got to play into our midfield back out and try to split them in the width. They’re going to try to put us under more pressure than other [teams] have.”
