The Minnesota women's soccer team will honor its group of seven seniors during Sunday's home finale against Michigan State (Reminder: Sunday's start time has been changed to 12 p.m. to accommodate a live broadcast by the Big Ten Network). Seniors Katie Bethke, Molly Rouse, Katie Shelander, Angie Olson, Julie Rezac, Kylie Kallman and Jennie Clark have made up one of the most successful classes in school history. The seniors have amassed an impressive 53-22-7 career record including a record setting campaign as sophomores in 2008 when the Gophers went 22-4-0, earned a share of the Big Ten championship and made the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Round of 16.
Here is the 2010 Minnesota women's soccer senior class...
Senior Midfielder Katie Bethke
A native of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, senior midfielder Katie Bethke will leave Minnesota with one of the top careers in Gophers history - ranking among the top-10 at Minnesota in career points, goals, assists and shots. Bethke came to Minnesota following a standout career at Eau Claire Memorial High School as well as the Bangu Tsunami and St. Croix club teams and earned All-Big Ten Freshman Team and Soccer Buzz Great Lake All-Region Freshman Team honors in 2007. Bethke was named a U of M Scholar athlete as sophomore in 2008, the This year, Bethke has been the Gophers top point getter this season and currently leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the nation with 10 assists this year including twice tying the school record with three assists. Bethke will graduate with a degree in chemistry.
Senior Midfielder Molly Rouse
Minnesota's most experienced student-athlete, senior midfielder Molly Rouse has the rare distinction of appearing in every Gophers game since arriving on campus in 2007. Rouse heads into today's game with 82-consecutive appearances under her belt with 49 career points. A two-time All-state honoree and Cambridge-Isanti High School's all-time leading scorer, Rouse worked her way into the starting lineup in the final half of her freshman year at Minnesota and earned All-Big Ten Freshman honors. Since then, the 2009 First Team All-Big Ten award winner has started every game over the last three years to bring her streak of consecutive starts to 73-straight games. Rouse's 16 career goals often have been game changing performances as the senior has an astonishing seven career game winners including two this year. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree and a U of M Scholar Athlete, Rouse is majoring in elementary education.
Senior Forward Katie Shelander
Growing up just minutes from Elizabeth Lyle Robbie, senior forward Katie Shelander joined the Gophers after graduating from nearby Roseville High School where she earned all-state honors in 2006. As a junior, Shelander set the conference mark with a three assist performance against South Dakota on Oct. 4. But her résumé as an underclassman has been eclipsed by her performance this season. Already this year, Shelander has doubled her career numbers with seven points in 2010 to bring her career total to 14. The senior tallied the game-winning goal in Minnesota's 2-1 win over Vanderbilt on Aug. 27 and recorded a career-high four point game less than a week later against Belmont when she recorded a goal and two assists in a 7-0 win for the Gophers. Shelander will graduate with a degree in speech-language-hearing sciences
Senior Midfielder Angie Olson
Senior midfielder Angie Olson came to Minnesota after a successful career at Eagan High School, where she was an NSCAA/adidas High School All-American and earned Minnesota's Ms. Soccer title in 2006. After seeing significant time as a reserve in her first two seasons with the Gophers including a sophomore campaign that saw Olson named a U of M scholar athlete, Olson broke out as a junior with three goals and eight points, starting all 19 games she appeared in and tallying the game winner against South Dakota State on Aug. 21. As a senior, Olson has recorded three points so far in 2010 including the opening goal in the Gophers' 4-1 win over Purdue earlier this month. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Olson is majoring in kinesiology.
Senior Midfielder Julie Rezac
Senior midfielder Julie Rezac arrived at Minnesota as one of the state's top high school players with three all-state selections and an NSCAA/adidas High School All-american honor to go along with the 2005 state championship she won with Eden Prairie. Rezac also earned three State Cup titles in club competition before a freshman campaign with the Gophers that saw Rezac start all 19 games. The midfielder had recorded one of her most memorable goals as a sophomore - tallying the game winner in Minnesota's 2-1 win over Marquette in the opening round of the NCAA tournament. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten honoree, Rezac is majoring in health and wellness.
Senior Midfielder Kylie Kallman
Another local product out of Woodbury Minnesota, senior midfielder Kylie Kallman. As a prep athlete, Kallman won three state titles with Woodbury High School and added two Minnesota State Cup club championships before enrolling at the U. An iron horse for the Gophers, Kallman has started all but one game in her career including all 19 games as a freshman. The two-time team Ironwoman Award winner was part of a backline that set school records in 2008 with 17 shutouts and 12 goals against as a sophomore. Kallman earned her second-straight Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten honors last year as a junior before moving from defender to midfield for the 2010 season. A four-year letter winner with 80 career starts to her name, Kallman will graduate with a degree in marketing and operations management.
Senior Defender Jennie Clark
Last, but certainly not least, we have senior defender Jennie Clark of Norwalk, Iowa. Clark was a 2006 All-State selection out of Norwalk High School and helped her club team to five consecutive state titles before joining the Gophers. The two-time First Team All-Big Ten honoree has been a mainstay on the Gophers back line since arriving on campus and helped the Minnesota defense set school records in a memorable 2008 season with 17 shutouts and just 12 goals against all season. Clark earned SoccerBuzz Fourth Team All-American honors that season as a sophomore as well as her first of two All-district awards. A candidate for the Hermann Trophy award this year as a senior, Clark suffered a broken collarbone early in the 2010 season but returned less than six weeks later against Purdue - notching an assist in Minnesota's 4-1 win over the Boilermakers. A two-time Academic All-Big Ten award winner and a U of M Scholar athlete, Clark will graduate with a degree in communications.