The Gophers soccer team will open their Big Ten Tournament run with a rematch against Penn State on Thursday in the first round.
The last time the Gophers played the Nittany Lions, who were ranked No. 20 when they played them on Oct. 13, they lost. The game was tied until the 82nd minute when Penn State redshirt senior Olivia Damico netted the ball, giving her team the lead and the win.
15 days later, the Gophers will meet the Nittany Lions at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. If the game rules in favor of the maroon and gold, their next challenge would be the Big Ten regular-season runner-up, UCLA.
After going undefeated at home this season, Gophers midfielder Sophia Romine said stress levels are low among the team.
“We feel pretty good,” Romine said. “Individually and as a team I think we have a lot of confidence in each other as well.”
The Gophers will need to keep a close eye on Penn State’s Kaitlyn MacBean who is tied for seventh in the nation in goals with 14. Gophers head coach Erin Chastain knows they need to slow her down.
“We have to be aware of where she is and aware of what her strengths are, and hopefully deny some service for her,” Chastain said.
MacBean may not be on Jeffrey Field in University Park, Pennsylvania, but she will be back in her home state as the Excelsior, Minnesota native will be bringing her ability to get the ball in the back of the net to Elizabeth Lyle Robbie stadium.
In their Oct. 13 game, Penn State won 3-2, with goals scored by MacBean, Damico and defender Kaelyn Wolfe. The latter two scored their only goals of the season against the Gophers.
When comparing the two teams, the Gophers scored three fewer goals than Penn State this season while taking about 30 fewer shots. The defense is similar too, with the Gophers allowing 19 goals and Penn State allowing 17.
MacBean is the main offensive threat, but midfielder Jordan Fusco added three goals and nine assists. Fusco’s nine assists are tied for eighth in the nation.
The Gophers do a good job of forcing defenses to commit fouls. Minnesota forced 195 fouls while drawing 26 yellow cards.
Penn State is an aggressive team defensively, and Minnesota may be able to get more possessions due to their ability to draw fouls.
Gophers forward Paige Kalal said they may be able to take advantage of Penn State’s press now that they are more familiar with it.
“I think it leaves a lot of areas open for us to capitalize, so just recognizing those moments to play through balls, maybe possess a little bit more and draw them out of position is going to be really important,” Kalal said.
Looking forward to the possibility of UCLA, the Gophers lost 3-1 to UCLA when they played them in Los Angeles on Sept. 29. The loss against the Bruins was the team’s only multiple-goal loss of the season.
If the Gophers beat Penn State, they will play on Nov. 3 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
