Gophers Tie Michigan on the Road

Courtesy: University of Minnesota 10/23/2009

Tamara Strahota scores 22 seconds into the match.

Stats

Ann Arbor, Mich. – The University of Minnesota soccer team saw a potential win slip away this evening (Oct. 23) as a second half foul call allowed host Michigan the game-tying penalty kick, as the two teams battled to the 1-1 draw on a cold rainy night at the U-M Soccer Complex.

After the first half of play, one could have predicted that Minnesota (10-4-3, 3-2-2) came away with a victory in convincing fashion. The Golden Gophers’ Tamara Strahota (Burnsville, Minn.) scored one of the fastest goals in Minnesota soccer history, taking the ball from Katie Bethke (Eau Claire, Wis.) on the opening kickoff and planting it in the back of the net just 22 seconds into the match. The goal was the fourth of the season for Strahota, while the assist was Bethke’s fifth.

The school record for fastest goal is only two seconds better, just 00:20 into a match by Nicole Lee back in the 1998 season. The Gophers also ended the opening half with a 12-to-1 advantage in shots and a 4-to-0 lead on shots on goal.

However, almost equally as fast as Minnesota, Michigan (5-7-4, 0-2-4) got on the board in the second half. The Gophers were called for a foul in the box, just 1:25 into the half, setting up a penalty kick for the Wolverines. Michigan’s Alex Jendrusch lined up the kick and slipped it just inside the right-side upright for the score.

The 1-1 score would hold up for the remainder of the match while the Gophers continued to out-shoot the Wolverines 9-to-6 in the final three periods. Minnesota held a 21-to-7 advantage in shots for the match and a 7-to-3 margin in shots on goal. The Gophers added to their statistical advantage with an 8-to-1 edge in corners in the game.

The game-changing foul call was a hand ball off the back elbow of a charging Jennie Clark (Norwalk, Iowa). Things went from bad to worse for the visitors after the penalty kick, as Kylie Kallman (Woodbury, Minn.) drew her first career Red Card and was forced to leave the match. Without one of their starting defenders, the Gophers were forced to play the next 40 minutes a player down.

Things eventually did even out, though, as Michigan’s Amy Kippert drew her second Yellow Card of the match and left with just under four minutes remaining in regulation.

“I’m very proud of the way we played tonight,” head coach Mikki Denney Wright said after the match. “To continue to battle and compete despite being a player down really shows the character of this team. I was very pleased with how we responded facing adversity tonight.”

Michigan would go on to earn four total Yellow Cards, including the two from Kippert, as physical play ramped up at the game wore on. 31 total fouls were issued in the match, included eight in the two extra sessions.

Of the three goals that the Gophers have allowed in the past three games, none have come during routine play, all have been off set pieces.

The Gophers will look to get back to their winning ways on Sunday when they continue their road trip at Michigan State. The Spartans enter the match 8-3-4 on the season and 1-3-2 in Big Ten play. Kickoff is set for 12:00 p.m. (ET).