Commentary

If you’ve been following the news releases from D2 teams recently you know that many teams have been bolstering their rosters before the August 31 deadline. As is often done at this time of year, clubs add players they feel could help them make a playoff run. While that in itself is not earth shattering, there is something very curious going on. Something that seems a bit unjust. Two teams in USSF D2 Pro League that seem to have been financially irresponsible during this current season suddenly are stocking up on players for the playoffs. That’s right, both Crystal Palace Baltimore and AC St. Louis have somehow magically been able to add players to their team.

Not so long ago Jeff Cooper had such financial adversity with his organization that he had to fold his WPS team Athletica and the USSF had to dip into the security bond just to make payroll and keep the team afloat. Fortunes of the USSF D2 Pro League team may have turned more recently after dumping Athletica and ridding themselves of their expensive coach and foreign owners who had not paid into the team since last winter. But no matter their adversity or the trouble they caused for US Soccer, Cooper and his AC St. Louis suddenly have money to add players to their roster in the month of August.

On the 16th, AC St. Louis announced the signing of up and coming 16-year old Luis Gil in a loan agreement from Real Salt Lake for the remainder of the 2010 season. Just one day later the team announced the midfielder Michael Videira formerly of the New England Revolution had signed with the team. Finally, on August 27th, AC St. Louis inked a contract with former Real Maryland midfielder Nicki Paterson.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace Baltimore also seem to be busy stocking up on players. In fact, on August 31st their headline read “Baltimore add fresh blood in playoff push.” The team announced the signing of 3 players: forward, Alan Sanchez, 22, (signed from the Real Maryland Monarchs), Romanian-born Adrian Bumbut, 26 and Mark Murphy, 26, as a back-up goalkeeper. While CP Baltimore did release 3 other players to make the move, it’s curious to me that the team was allowed any player transactions after this past season.

Palace have had more than a few financial problems this season. In fact, it started early in the season and went south from there. According to several sources, CP Baltimore actually went through all of their bond money and a special meeting was called between USSF and the NASL . After a very close vote the federation and NASL ponied up money to save the team until the end of the season. In fact, when Palace coach Jim Cherneski commented on why top scorer Randi Patterson was sold when the team was struggling he commented: “We’re broke.” Oh, and this is the same team that has played at 5 different stadiums this season.

Let’s look at one more team.  A team that seems to be the polar opposite of the two aforementioned teams. This team has tried to be financially responsible all season by keeping costs down and not overspending. Because the NSC Minnesota Stars have been self disciplined and fiscally responsible, they turned down numerous offers from teams to purchase or take players on loan to aid in a playoff run. For the Stars, it’s what you see is what you get. Despite having the lowest player payroll in the league, the Stars, led by coach Manny Lagos, are still clinging onto a playoff spot. However, if either AC St. Louis or CP Baltimore make the playoffs there will certainly be an injustice.

Recently, the USSF has set a rigorous new set of standards for teams and their owners. But I have one more standard US Soccer forgot to add and should have during this past season. A penalty for financial irresponsibility which should have been handed out to both AC St. Louis and CP Baltimore for the grief they’ve caused the league and its teams. This could have been accomplished several ways. Perhaps if a team has to dip into the bonding money points get deducted from the team’s standings. In the case of Palace where they have used all their bond money and still had to be rescued, there is no logical reason whatsoever why they should be allowed to participate in the playoffs. None!

Hopefully, these problems will get sorted out on their own. But if either team makes the playoffs this season I think we should all be asking lot of questions.

Adidas Extends Contract with Major League Soccer

MLS announced that they have extended their partnership with Adidas until 2018.  The original agreement still had four years remaining on a 10-year $150 million agreement. The new deal will be worth $200 million and will allow Adidas to remain the official athletic sponsor and product supplier for the league.

Adidas has been a sponsor of the league since its inception in 1996. It’s believed that MLS will use part of the Adidas money to assist in youth development and football academies as well as the currently defunct reserve league.

“The goal will be to make a very direct link between our academies, our reserve league, our youth programs with a lot of the other youth programs going on in this country; Adidas can play a very important role in creating that bridge and solidifying all those ties,” said MLS Commissionaire Don Garber.

Recently, Adidas has extend their contract with the Mexican Football Federation through 2018.

US World Cup Bid Committee Announces 2 Sponsorships

Both AT&T and American Airlines have both agreed to partner with the US World Cup Bid Committee.

AT&T
“As a major supporter of professional soccer in this country, AT&T is the perfect communications sponsor for the USA Bid Committee’s mission to show the world that the United States would be honored to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022,” said Sunil Gulati, Chairman of the USA Bid Committee and President of U.S. Soccer. “Their global presence as an innovator in communications technology will be a significant asset to our bid and we’re proud to welcome them to our team.”

AT&T had signed a major sponsorship deal with MLS in July of ’09 and is the Exclusive Communications Services Sponsor of U.S. Soccer and Major League Soccer as well as the title sponsor of the annual Major League Soccer All-Star Game. The company is also an official sponsor of the Mexican National Soccer Team. The deal with MLS promised to yield exclusive soccer-themed content across mobile handsets, televisions and PCs.

American Airlines
On Tuesday the Bid Committee also announced American Airlines as an official sponsor. American Airlines was the official airline of the 1994 FIFA World Cup held in the United States and currently serves and the official airline of Major League Soccer as well as several professional soccer clubs. The company also holds the title of the official airline of SuperLiga.

American Airlines will use a variety of the company’s communications channels to promote the online petition drive of the U.S. bid that has already attracted more than 990,000 supporters to www.goUSAbid.com. The agreement also allows the USA Bid Committee and American Airlines to use each other’s logos, marks and slogans, in press releases, advertising materials, and marketing materials. The American Airlines logo will be included on the Bid Committee’s website with a link to the American Airlines website, www.aa.com. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed.

It’s that time again in Minnesota. The State Fair is in full gear and the kids are heading back to school soon if they’ve not done so already.

That also means it’s time for college soccer. The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) has one of the best Division-3 soccer conferences in the nation for both men’s and women’s programs. The teams are competitive and well coached and most years you will find several Minnesota teams in the NCAA postseason playoffs with some pushing far into the tournament.

The MIAC website is equal to the task with excellent pages for both men’s and women’s programs. Every year I compliment the site and this year is no different. The site isn’t overly complicated but has the information you need laid out in a very intuitive manner.

One of the features I really like are the schedules which you can find on the right sidebar below the standings. Click on any date and you know who’s playing where and when that day. Want more information about a team? Click on the icon of any team at the top and go to their website or click on the school name in the standings and go directly to that school’s soccer program page. Very well thought out and put together by MIAC.

Last year I toiled for hours gathering information from coaches, AD’s and teams in an attempt to preview each schools men’s and women’s soccer program. This year I decided to leave that to MIAC since they do an excellent job themselves.

Please see this link for the MIAC Men’s Soccer Preview for 2010

Please see this link for the MIAC Women’s Soccer Preview for 2010

Also, the 2010 preseason polls are out and Macalester leads the way for the men with St. Thomas and Carleton nipping at their heels.

For the women Concordia is once again at the top this year with Carleton and St. Thomas trailing.

The Golden Gophers women’s soccer team defeated Belmont on Tuesday afternoon by a score of 7-0 with goals scored by 5 different players. The team outshot their opponents 27-3. The victory wraps up a 3-game road trip that saw the team defeat all three opponents. The Gophers are now 3-1-0 in non conference play scoring 11 goals and only allowing three.

The Gophers will make their first home appearance this season with the Minnesota Gold Classic at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium this weekend. The four-team tournament kicks off on Friday afternoon with a meeting between Marquette and San Diego scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start. Minnesota’s first game of the tournament will follow at 7:00 p.m. on Friday when the Golden Gophers host UC-Santa Barbara. UC-Santa Barbara and Marquette meet on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. while the Gophers take on San Diego in the closing game of the event at 1:00 p.m.

Courtesy: University of Minnesota – 08/31/2010
The Minnesota women’s soccer team erupted with seven goals including a pair from both junior midfielder Shari Eckstrom and sophomore forward Allie Phillips on Tuesday afternoon in a 7-0 shutout over Belmont. The Gophers (3-1-0) picked up their third-consecutive win and went undefeated in a week-long road trip with the win over Belmont (0-3-0).

“I’m really proud of the way our players responded today. We were obviously disappointed with our execution in the final third on Sunday, and this was a completely different team today,” Minnesota head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. “One of our core values is to grow every day, and I think we grew everyday this weekend.”

After 20 minutes of scoreless play to start Tuesday’s game, the Gophers rattled off two goals in just over one minute when Eckstrom and Phillips each tallied goals in the 21st and 22nd minutes. Eckstrom, who finished the game with a team-high three goals on the season, picked kicked off Minnesota’s shooting gallery when she poked in a corner kick from senior midfielder Katie Bethke at the 20:58 mark. 55 seconds later, Phillips would tally her first goal of the season off a rebound from senior midfielder Kylie Kallman. Junior defender Josie Solie also earned an assist on the goal.

The first-half firestorm continued when junior forward Tamara Strahota drew Belmont goalkeeper Sari Lin to the near side of the net before slipping a pass across the box to senior forward Katie Shelander. With Lin out of position, Shelander had no trouble depositing her second score of the season at the 33:12 mark. The duo hooked up again in the 45th minute, this time with Strahota knocking home her first of the year with assists from Shelander and sophomore midfielder Olivia Bagnall.

Minnesota’s production would dip only slightly in the second half as the Gophers tallied three additional goals. Phillips buried her second goal of the game when her strike from just outside the box hit home at 52:08 after a set-up pass from Bethke. Bethke, who finished with a game-high three assists, also set up senior midfielder Molly Rouse’s scoring strike in the 65th minute. Senior midfielder Angie Olson also earned an assist on the play. Eckstrom, who started the day’s scoring for Minnesota and had a game-high eight shots and four shots on goal, would add a closer with assists from Shelander and freshman midfielder Nicole Baier in the 87th minute to give Minnesota a 7-0 win.

Behind a stoic defense that allowed only three total shots and a lone shot on goal off a free kick, Cat Parkhill and Katie Roberts split time in net for the Gophers, each working a half. In her fourth start of the season, Parkhill went untested while Roberts made one save in relief. In contrast, Minnesota peppered Belmont’s goalkeepers with a season-high 27 shots, scoring on 7 of the team’s 15 shots on goal.

The Gophers return to action this weekend, hosting the Minnesota Gold Classic in St. Paul.

Stats

The National Sports Center, owner of the NSC Stars pro soccer team, made another plea today for business partners in order to keep the team alive in 2011. The NSC released a more gently worded statement several weeks ago which IMS published and elaborated on. This statement gives a few more details than the original press release and explains the graveness of the situation.

Pro soccer to leave Minnesota unless National Sports Center is able to recruit financial partner

BLAINE, Minn. (August 30, 2010) – Several weeks ago, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) released new higher standards for Division 2 professional soccer teams playing in a USSF-sanctioned league in 2011. The NSC Minnesota Stars, which currently play in the USSF Division 2 league, are facing a dilemma. The team, which is owned by the non-profit National Sports Center (NSC) Foundation, is unable to meet the higher financial benchmarks necessary for league membership next year.

“While we support the efforts of the USSF to upgrade the standards for pro soccer, the new standards will necessitate that we find an organization or individual willing to join us as a financial partner,” said Kris Bjerkness, Stars’ General Manager. “That’s what we need to qualify under the new higher standards.”

“When we assumed ownership of the team last January, we were very public about our desire to eventually pursue a creative public/private ownership model to bring more financial resources to team operations,” continued Bjerkness. “Now’s the time for that to happen.”

The NSC acquired this new franchise in January 2010 and has operated the team throughout the USSF Division 2 league schedule, which started in April. The NSC Stars replaced the Minnesota Thunder which had played on and off at the NSC for 20 years.

The NSC has performed several tasks at a highly successful level.  Stadium presentation, public relations, coaching staff, team selection, social media, website, and game-day operations and presentation have all been very positive.

However, the NSC has not met its goals in brand awareness, ticket marketing and sales.

The NSC believes that there is a great opportunity for a private investor to help us build on the successes and improve on those areas where the team fell short of goals.

The Stars have posted an average attendance of 1,413 through 13 home games of the inaugural 2010 season. Two more home games remain in the 2010 season, September 15 vs. the Carolina RailHawks and September 18 against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

“The team needs to be selling between 2,500 and 3,000 tickets per game to be financially successful” stated Kris Bjerkness, General Manager of the NSC Minnesota Stars.

“The NSC had many motivations in starting the Stars pro team,” said Paul Erickson, Executive Director.  “But one of our primary reasons was to preserve the long and proud history of professional soccer in Minnesota at the highest level possible. We were happy to step in and keep pro soccer alive for this one year, but the new USSF standards mean that we can’t go forward without additional investment.”

“Ownership of a team based at the NSC is a unique opportunity,” continued Erickson. “The National Sports Center boasts one of the best soccer-specific stadiums in the country, at the largest amateur sports campus in the world.

“We are proud of what we have accomplished in the past eight months, but the reality is that we will need a new financial partner to continue pro soccer in Minnesota.”

USMNT Head Coach Bob Bradley inks 4-year contract with USSF

US Soccer announced late this afternoon that they have extended the contract of U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Bob Bradley. The agreement keeps Bradley working for the federation through the end of 2014.

While Bradley has his detractors his record speaks for itself: Bradley has accumulated a record of 38-20-8 in his four years at the helm of the senior men’s team. He has coached his team to the Round of 16 in this past year’s 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The team also finished atop their group which was a first for US Soccer. Bradley’s team accumulated more points than any other US coach has in CONCACAF qualifying and finished the qualifications to a first place finish. He also led the US Team to its first ever major FIFA competition final by advancing to the championship game against Brazil in the 2009 Confederation Cup in South Africa.

Cody Cropper on signing day with Ipswich Town FC

The journey has been a long one for Cody Cropper, a goalkeeper from Maple Grove, Minnesota. Cropper, still 6 months shy of 18, has finally found a home after two arduous years of clubs, teams, trials and thousands of miles traveled. The 6’4″, 215 lb. keeper signed with Ipswich Town FC early last May, but his international clearance (ITC) had not been approved until Thursday of last week. With papers cleared by the English FA, USSF and FIFA, the team can now officially roster him for games. Cropper played in an Academy team game last Saturday where he earned a 2-2 draw with Leeds and is scheduled to be on the bench of the Reserve team this Tuesday.

“When I heard my ITC finally cleared I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Cropper from Ipswich, where he now resides. “But getting on the team is the easy part. This is when all the hard work starts.”

Perhaps that’s true, but Cropper should be up to the task. He hasn’t exactly had a cakewalk the last 24 months. “That’s a very difficult experience,” said Cropper’s agent Tom Bagley of Long View Management. “I’ve seen a number of adults not able to handle what Cody has been through the last couple of years. Not only has he handled it, he has grown and matured along the way.”

Cropper signed a 2-year deal, the first year being a scholar contract and the 2nd year, which he will sign in February when he turns 18, will be a pro contract.

Cropper’s story starts with his father Joe, who’s a native of England. Joe grew up playing soccer in England and spent some time at the professional level in the US. Of course the elder Cropper encouraged his son to play soccer and has helped Cody by finding opportunities to play at higher levels. “To be honest, he probably knows me better than I do myself,” said the junior Cropper speaking of his father. “He’s a very good coach and picks up on a lot of little things that players may not realize.”

Just 2 years ago Cody was entering his freshman year at Maple Grove High School where he finished the season making All State Honorable Mention. He had previously played for Wings SC and Bangu, two high-level clubs in the Twin Cities that eventually merged to become the Minnesota Thunder Academy.

Cody Cropper with his grandmother Dorothy who signed as Cody's legal guardian. Cropper says she's his biggest fan.

In the spring of ’08, his father enrolled Cody with USL Super Y team Reading Rage in Pennsylvania. Cropper and his team had a good season and he made the 2008 Super Y-League Select Team and was one of the top-rated players in USL’s Super Y-League ODP system which earned him a trip to England to train with West Ham.

Cropper was signed up to play with the Minnesota Thunder Academy the following summer but also made several trips to England for tryouts with numerous clubs including Arsenal, Birmingham, Portsmouth, West Ham and Wolverhampton. His best trial was with Wolverhampton who invited Cropper back for a third trial in February of ’09.  But that third trial never happened as Cropper was called up to the US U-17 Residency program in Bradenton, Florida. While flattering, Cody soon became frustrated in a system where he never broke through the pecking order of 4th keeper and never saw competitive matches.

“Bradenton was good,” said Cropper.  “It was fast-paced and good training. I liked the coaches a lot but I just didn’t get my chances to play.”

Cropper left the Residency program in the summer break of ’09. Cropper and his father decided to try again in the senior Cropper’s home country. Leicester had heard of Cropper’s trial at Wolverhampton and were interested in seeing the young keeper. Cropper had a good trial with Wolves and the English club offered to sign the young Cropper to a 2-year contract.

Cropper returned to Minnesota for the later part of the summer and in August and part of September last year trained goalkeepers at DeLa Salle High School in Minneapolis, MN.

Cropper returned to England to train with Leicester, but technical snafus in the paperwork meant that Leicester would have to wait a bit longer to get Cropper signed. The first division club eventually ran out of patience and released the young keeper.

Disappointment didn’t deter Cropper. He landed yet another trial last winter with Roy Keane’s Ipswich Town FC.

Just like everything else for Cropper, this trial wasn’t easy. “I think I was here for about 5 or 6 weeks before they made a decision,” said Cropper. “The first 3 or 4 weeks it seemed like it was pouring rain every day. In fact we even had a lot of snow. It seemed every Saturday we were supposed to play there would be a lot of rain. A number of times the matches were called because the pitches were soggy with rain or frozen because we ended up with a couple of feet of snow. After those 4 or 5 weeks I finally got my chance to play. When they saw me in a game it influenced them to make a decision in my favor.”

Cropper says he enjoys the training sessions at Ipswich where he trains alongside the senior keepers. He says Keane observes part of the goalkeeper training almost every day and occasionally joins in on training with the team.

“You’re paid to play football,” said Cropper who suddenly turns serious. “That’s what your job is over here. When you’re not doing your job Mr. Keane can be very intense at times. But he can also banter about with the players and have fun. You’re  job isn’t to just kick a football around, have fun and not take it seriously. You’re getting paid to pull out results and that’s what you are expected to do.”

Cody Cropper admits he has always been a good matchday keeper but needed to improve on his intensity in training.  Joe Cropper says that perhaps is the area where Cody has most improved this past year. “I think even in the last 3 or 4 months I’ve picked up a new aggression, a new personality in training,” said Cody Cropper.  “I look at goalkeepers like Brian Murphy, Arran Lee-Barrett and our new signing Márton Fülöp and they go into training with the mentality that nothing is getting by them and that training is just as important at matches. I think I’m starting to pick that up and bring that into my own personality.”

The seasoning, the disappointments, the adversity seemed to have pushed young Cropper along when others may have folded along the way. One thing that may have aided him is his grandmother Dorothy Cropper, who is a resident of Coventry. Cropper has lived with his grandmother for long periods of time while in England and tries to get back to her house for weekends whenever possible.

“I think that one of the biggest reasons for me being able to cope with being away from my original home and my parents is my grandmother,” said Cropper. “Growing up, my grandmother lived with us. I always looked at her as one of my best friends. To this day she is like a second mother to me. She’s told me many times she’s one of my biggest fans and always will be no matter what. I believe she is a major reason for my success.”

Cody says he traveled to England as a youth but never became totally acclimated to English life until the last two years. Because of his previous trials, this time he was able to focus on his football and not on the food or cultural differences: “It was a much easier transition this time because of that. I didn’t have to think about all that stuff. I could just switch my brain onto football and not concern myself with anything else. In doing that I was able to focus on this opportunity to change my life and it really worked.”

Cropper in uniform for Ipswich

While Cropper knew that he could hurt his future chances to play for the US Men’s National Team by leaving Bradenton, it was a risk he and his father knew he had to take. In early May, around the same time that Cropper signed his contract with Ipswich, he was called back to the US National Team. This time onto Thomas Rongen’s U-20 Men’s team to play in the Cor Groenewegan Tournament. Rongen has gone on record recently as saying the US is at a point where he only wants professional players on his teams.

“I think it’s a great opportunity to show how much I’ve progressed since I’ve been with the U-17 National Team,” said a confident Cropper. “I feel like I’m really ready this time. I think when I was in the U-17 camp I took it a little for granted and I’m not sure I was up to the pace at that time. Now that I’ve been training with Ipswich first team I’ll be a bit faster and better with my technical ability and more confident in my decision making and my playmaking.”

With the U-20 World Cup coming in 2011, Cropper has been called into the US Men’s U-20 camp again for a trip to South America. Cropper, who says his Ipswich team is supportive of his time with the U-20′s, will leave for his grandmother’s house on Tuesday in preparation for the trip. He will fly out to meet the team in Miami, Florida on Wednesday. The team will take part in a tournament held in Peru from September 6th through the 10th playing Paraguay, Colombia and Peru. The squad is made up of pros from Mexican, European and US squads.

Cropper says there have been some good moments over the last 2 years, especially his time spent with Ipswich. His most memorable of all was a match last spring when he played against Leicester, the team that gave up on Cropper. Ipswich beat the Foxes 3-2 and Cropper saved a penalty to assure the win. “I had a little extra intensity in my game and I think I was more focused than I’ve ever been,” said Cropper. You could almost hear the smile as he described the play. Who said revenge can’t be sweet?

Courtesy: University of Minnesota – 08/29/2010

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Minnesota women’s soccer team continued to find success during this weekend’s road trip as the Gophers tallied two early goals to take down the Western Kentucky University Lady Toppers 2-1 on Sunday afternoon in Bowling Green.

Senior midfielder Katie Bethke tallied her first goal of the season just 2:29 into the contest when she struck a penalty kick past a diving Libby Stout in goal for WKU. Fellow senior midfielder Molly Rouse gave the Gophers a two-goal advantage in the 17th minute when she snuck a controversial shot past Stout for her first of the year. While nothing was wrong with Rouse’s attempt, a WKU defender played the ball from just behind the goal line with referees stating that the defender’s right leg was planted on the goal line, but she played the ball with her left, which was behind the line. Rouse’s goal, her first of the year, came with assists from forward Katie Shelander and defender Josie Solie.

The Gophers doubled up Western Kentucky University in shots 14-7 in the game including 11-1 in the first half, but the Gophers couldn’t maintain that production in the second half. The Lady Toppers out-struck Minnesota 6-3 in the second stanza. Five Gophers finished the game with two shots while only four Lady Toppers tallied shots on goal, led by three from forward Sydney Sisler.

“We were very average today especially in the final third. I was extremely disappointed with our frontrunners as a group and just didn’t think we executed enough in the final third to put teams away,” Minnesota head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. “Until we figure out how to do that, we’re just going to figure out how to grind to win games. It’s not pretty, but it’s a win.”

In goal for Minnesota, sophomore Cat Parkhill carried a shutout into the 82nd minute when the Gophers tallied an own goal off a Lady Topper corner kick that bounced off Minnesota midfielder Shari Eckstrom and into the goal. Parkhill, who was untested in the first half, finished the game with one save.

The Gophers tallied 10 fouls in the game opposed to WKU’s eight. Minnesota also held the advantage in corner kicks 6-2 and shots on goal 5-2.

Minnesota closes out its three-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon with a 1 p.m. (CST) match at Belmont. Follow the action with a running blog and live stats at Gophersports.com.

Team Stats

Courtesy: University of Minnesota 8/27/10

The Minnesota women’s soccer team picked up its first win of the season on Friday in a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Vanderbilt. Junior midfielder Shari Eckstrom tallied the first Gophers goal of the 2010 campaign after the Commodores took an early lead before senior forward Katie Shelander added the eventual game winner midway through the first half.

“I thought it was a good battle. It was good for our team to go down a goal and then come back,” Minnesota head coach Mikki Denney Wright said. “The final third is getting much better for us, so we are excited about that. And I thought our defensive mid and our back three had a good second half. Vanderbilt’s a good team, and it was a great battle. I was proud of the way we responded after the goal and how we played the second half.”

The Commodores took an early lead in their home opener when sophomore CJ Rhoades hit set up senior Megan Kinsella with a long pass down the right side. Kinsella put Vanderbilt up 1-0 when she dribbled down to the six-yard box and snuck a low shot inside the near post.

The lead wouldn’t last long, however, as junior midfielder Shari Eckstrom evened the score 63 seconds later with her first goal of the year. Junior forward Tamara Strahota fed Eckstrom behind the Vanderbilt defense where Eckstrom slid a low shot into the back of the net. Minnesota (1-1-0 overall, 0-0-0 Big Ten) then broke the tie in the 36th minute when senior forward Katie Shelander slipped a shot into the side netting after a setup pass from senior midfielder Katie Bethke. The eventual game winner was Shelander’s first of the year.

Defense was the story of the second half as both defenses pitched shutouts in the final 45 minutes. Minnesota sophomore Cat Parkhill and Commodores goalkeeper Rachel Bachtel each posted three saves in the second half.

Minnesota returns to action on Sunday with a 1 p.m. matchup at Western Kentucky before closing out a three-game road trip with a 1 p.m. meeting against Belmont next Tuesday.

Box Score

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