CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. -- The Minnesota and Wisconsin soccer teams met halfway in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin to play a spring exhibition match on Friday night with the Gophers downing the Badgers by a 1-0 score to push their spring record to 3-1-0 in 11-a-side matches while Wisconsin fell to 2-3-1 this spring in exhibition play.
The beginning of the match was a midfield battle, but about 10 minutes in, the Gophers began to seize control forcing Badger freshman goalkeeper Genevieve Richard into making several plays. At the 22:24 mark of the first half, Minnesota forwards Nicole Baier and Steph Brandt combined up the middle of the Badger defense to spring Baier in alone with Richard. Baier calmly deposited her shot into the back of the net for what turned out to be the game winner.
In the first half, Minnesota outshot Wisconsin 7-1. The Badgers lone shot of the first half came at the 31 minute mark and was their best scoring chance of the game. Minnesota goalkeeper Cat Parkhill was up to the challenge and made a diving save to keep the Gophers on top. It would be Parkhill's lone save of the game to earn the shutout, as the Minnesota defense proved again to be unrelenting.
The second half saw Wisconsin come out with a renewed purpose to find the tying goal. But the suffocating Gopher defense allowed just two Badger shots in the final stanza and neither was on goal. For the game, Minnesota outshot Wisconsin 13-3; 5-1 in shots on goal. Additionally the Gophers out-cornered their rivals to the east by a final count of 5-1.
Minnesota will now turn their focus to their training for the next two weeks as they get ready to host fellow 2010 NCAA Tournament participant North Dakota State in their spring season finale on Saturday, April 30th. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium in St. Paul. The game is open to the public and admission is free.
Minnesota Wisconsin
Shots 13 3
Shots on Goal 5 1
Corner Kicks 5 1
Saves 1 4
