Aug. 29, 2012
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Minnesota vs. Bowling Green/Western Kentucky
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The University of Minnesota gets ready for a four-match homestand as they welcome Bowling Green and Western Kentucky for the first pair of matches at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. The Golden Gophers are coming off a 1-1-0 weekend in California where the defeated USC 4-1 but fell in double overtime to San Diego, 3-2.
Scouting Bowling Green
The Falcons come to Minnesota 1-2-0 after breaking a two-game losing streak with a win over IUPUI. Bowling Green returns eight starters from last year’s team that went 6-13-1. Despite returning a number of starters, BGSU has generated 15 different starting lineups this season. Two staples in the lineup are junior Madeline Wideman, who leads the team in shots and has one goal, and fifth-year senior Becca Ison, who has started every game in goal.
Scouting Western Kentucky
Western Kentucky enters the weekend with a 3-1-0 record. WKU returns six starters from a squad that went 13-6-3 last fall. The Hilltoppers are led by Amanda Buechel, who has a total of nine points on the year, inlcuding four goals. Nikki Hall has received all four starts this season and has tallied one shutout.
No Sophomore Slump
Sophomore Taylor Uhl has taken off from where she left off last season as she has five goals and two assists through four games this season. Last weekend, Uhl broke Minnesota’s record for most consecutive matches with a goal (nine) and a point (10).
There’s No Place Like Home
The Golden Gophers play the next four matches at home, which hasn’t happened since 2006. During that season’s homestand, Minnesota went 3-1 with the lone loss coming to Missouri, 1-0. The three others matches were all shutouts.
Playing the Odds
Minnesota has started the season 2-2 for the sixth time in program history with the last being 2011. In three of those five previous seasons, the Gophers have not reached 10 wins on the year (2000, 2007, 2011). In the other two seasons, the Maroon & Gold tallied 13 seasons each year (1993 and 1999), including a NCAA Tournament berth in 1999.
Early Risers
In three of the four games this season, the Gophers have nabbed the lead within the first 10 minutes. Minnesota went up 1-0 against Florida State in the sixth minute (2-0 in the seventh), up 1-0 against South Carolina in the second and 1-0 against San Diego in the 10th. USC is the long opponent to hold a lead against Minnesota in the first half (1-0 in favor of USC until the 26th minute).
Taking Over the Reigns
The Golden Gophers are under new leadership for the 2012 season as former head coach Mikki Denney Wright resigned to committ more time to her family. Insert new head coach Stefanie Golan, who was formerly at Army for three seasons.
Defending the Robbie
With the stereotype of being a tough home team, the Golden Gophers look to take advantage of their 12 home games this fall. In Gopher soccer history, the squad is 114-49-11 (.687) on their home pitch.
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