Indiana women’s soccer continues its Big Ten conference play with a road trip that begins 7 p.m. Thursday in St. Paul, Minnesota, against Minnesota. The Hoosiers are 2-0-6 overall and 0-0-1 in the Big Ten, while the Golden Gophers are 4-4-1 and 0-1-0 in conference play after losing their opener to Nebraska at home last Friday.
Indiana’s 0-0 draw against No. 8 Penn State Sunday tied the program record for most consecutive minutes without conceding a goal at 720 minutes, and broke an NCAA D-I record for most goalless draws in a single season at six. The match between the Hoosiers and the Nittany Lions was the only Big Ten match to end in a stalemate last weekend.
Minnesota has faced one top-25 school thus far this season, No. 7 Texas Christian University, on the road on Aug. 21. Despite scoring the first goal early in the second half, the Golden Gophers lost 2-1 to the Horned Frogs after conceding twice in the final ten minutes. Minnesota holds a much stronger 3-1 record at home compared to a 1-3-1 mark on the road.
[Related: Indiana women’s soccer shows growth of program with scoreless draw against No. 8 Penn State]
The Golden Gophers have a +7 goal differential, having scored 14 goals and conceded seven. Of the 14 goals, three of them have been scored by junior midfielder Sophia Boman, who leads the team in goals as well as assists with two and total points with eight.
Last year, in her first season coaching the team, now second-year head coach Erin Chastain led the Golden Gophers to an 8-6-3 record overall and 4-6-0 in the Big Ten. Minnesota finished level with Indiana at 12 points in the conference, just missing out on postseason play.
Minnesota has a strong hold on the head-to-head series with an 18-11-2 advantage, however, Indiana won the last two matchups. The most recent game was a 1-0 victory for the Hoosiers in October 2019, when then-senior captain Chandra Davidson scored the lone goal in the 36th minute to give the hosts a victory.
Kick off from Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium is slated for 7 p.m. The match will be televised on BIG+.
