Soccer

Anybody else on here a Minnesota Soccer fan? We have some of the highest attendance in the nation but discussion seems to be lacking on here compared to volleyball.

Anyway, season kicks off tomorrow with a visit to South Bend to play #4 Notre Dame. Obviously a very tough opponent to start the season, but with the experience on this team it should be a good test.

I really like the make up of the team this year. They return all 11 starters plus most of their key reserves this year. Jennie Clark is on the "short list" for the Hermann Trophy (soccer's Heisman) and is probably the top defender in the conference. Throw in 4-year starter Kylie Kallman and 2-year starter Josie Solie and you have another solid back line, which seems to be Coach Denney-Wright's hallmark.

Cat Parkhill in goal has extensive experience for US National Youth squads and obviously is a championship level goalie. A year of experience with her back line should make scoring on Minnesota awfully tricky this year.

Other players of note include Molly Rouse, who has an off the charts fitness level and should be one of the top midfielders in the conference. Katie Bethke who played with the US u23 national team this summer in Europe and is the second-leading returning scorer in the Big Ten. Olivia Bagnall who had a fantastic freshman year in the midfield last year and is another iron woman in terms of fitness.

There is some intrigue in terms of the newcomers as well. Steph Brandt redshirted last year, but had a phenomenal spring, scoring in nearly every match. It'll be interesting to see how that translates into the fall season, but I would be very surprised if she isn't a big contributor.

Nicole Baier is a transfer from Division II Nebraska-Omaha where she was an All-American last year as a freshman with 16 goals and 11 assists. Always interesting to see how strong players react to moving up a level.

Mackenzie Misel was the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and should also be an immediate contributor in midfield.

If you've never made it to a game but enjoy soccer, try to make it to a match this year. They have a great facility and it's a nice family outing for those of you looking for something cheaper than Gopher Football or Basketball.

I guarantee they finish well better than the 6th place finish they were picked for by the Big Ten coaches.

I'm more of a casual observer of Soccer, but I've been really impressed with how this team has performed the last few years. I think we have some great potential this year. I also agree that the game vs the Lady Irish will be a big indicator of how good we are and how far we have to go to have a special year.

Gopher 2010 sports season begins with a win 1-0 against ND. So, if we use the same standard that other schools use this means we are better than Notre Dame in every single way. Ski u Mah m-effer!

They lost to Notre Dame 1-0.

Played them nearly straight up on the road which is quit a feat. Notre Dame is the second best program in women's soccer.

Got a chance to watch the ladies play San Diego on the internet on Sunday and I came away very impressed. This is a very good team that coach Denny-Wright has put together. She's done a great job of rebuilding the program and making the Gophers a good program. They're aggressive, pass the ball well and are very intense. As a former soccer player myself, they're a fun team to watch because of how they play the game. Should be interesting to see how they fare once Big Ten play starts, but to be sitting at 5-1 with the only loss being a road game against Notre Dame is pretty darn impressive.

Gophers have moved into the Top 25 heading into Big Ten play. Ranked #18 after beating Illinois State 3-0. They open Big Ten play tomorrow at Iowa.

Illinois is the only other ranked Big Ten team at #20.

Watched them play against Illinois State and again came away impressed. Whether or not they can make serious noise in the Big Ten remains to be seen, but this team appears to be both confident and highly skilled, which should make for an entertaining conference season. I for one am looking forward to seeing how far this team can go before all is said and done!!!

They will make serious noise in the Big Ten, they're a very good team. They've lost their best player for an extended period of time and have hardly missed a beat, that's a definite sign of a good team.

Illinois, Michigan State, Wisconsin and Ohio State are going to be tough. Penn State has won the Big Ten 12 years in a row (their only co-Championship was with Minnesota in 2008.) They're sitting at 2-6-1 after the non-conference for a surprisingly terrible start. It will be interesting to see if they can change it around, the talent is definitely there.

Tonight's game with Iowa is being streamed live on BigTenNetwork.com. The subscription for the streaming service is pretty cheap.

Saw that the ladies beat No. 15 Illinois 1-0 this afternoon.

So now, they stand at 9-1-2 overall and 1-0-1 in the Big Ten. Very nice way to start the Big Ten season!!