Minnesota Blanks Women's Soccer, 2-0

Sept. 30, 2007

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Minnesota scored two early goals and the tallies held up, as the Michigan State women's soccer team fell to the Golden Gophers, 2-0, on a stormy Sunday afternoon at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. The loss drops the Spartans to 5-4-1 and 0-2 in Big Ten play, while Minnesota is now 6-3-1 and 2-0 in conference matches.

The Gophers got the eventual game-winner at the 4:48 mark when Kelly Wepking's soft shot rolled under MSU goalkeeper Nicole Galas just inside the far post. Kelsey Wood assisted on the goal.

"We came out a little sluggish," head coach Tom Saxton said. "We didn't have our legs under us. The shot was pretty soft and I think it fooled our defense."

Minnesota extended its lead to 2-0 in the 33rd minute on a goal by Clare Grimwood. Molly Rouse got the ball on a breakaway and sent a short pass to Grimwood, who fired a shot into the corner of the net.

Minnesota controlled the first half, outshooting MSU by a 10-2 margin and taking the 2-0 lead into the intermission. MSU rallied, however, in the second stanza, putting together three strong scoring chances and outshooting the Gophers by a 7-6 margin. Each Spartan try was turned away by Minnesota goalkeeper Chelsey Turner, and the Gophers hung on for the victory,

"The second half was one of our best halves all season, which was good to see," Saxton said. "It's tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. I have to give both of our opponents this weekend credit. We'll try to regroup and go back to work next week."

Senior Maureen Pawlak had a game-high five shots, including two shots on goal. Sophomore Katie Rehor also had a shot on goal in the second half. Hood led Minnesota with four shots and Wepking added three. Galas made six saves for MSU, while Turner stopped three shots in goal for the Gophers.

Michigan State hosts 11th-ranked Purdue at Old College Field on Friday, Oct. 5 at 4 p.m. The Spartans then host Indiana on Sunday, Oct. 7 at noon.