Gophers Defeat Illinois for 3rd Big Ten Win

St. Paul, Minn. – 10/13/12
Courtesy Gopher Sports.com

Taylor Uhl once again proved herself to be a power for the Gophers, scoring two goals and tallying one assist in a 3-0 victory over Illinois at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on Friday night. The team came out on top of their game to improve to 8-6-1 (3-3-1 conference). With the loss, Illinois drops to 7-5-2, 4-2-1 on the season.

Uhl was the first to mark the scoreboard with a goal in the 27 minute. After bringing the ball up the field, Uhl used her footwork to pass the defensive players and send one into the lower left corner of the net.

The Gophers kept steady with their momentum into the second half. In the 58th minute senior Tamara Strahota scored her first goal of the season off of an assist from Uhl. Shooting at a sharp angle off the endline, Strahota snuck the ball into the net.

Uhl put the nail in the coffin with her second goal of the night, and fifteenth of the season. With 16 minutes left in the game, Uhl fired consecutive shots at Illinois’ keeper, forcing a bobbled catch to score off of the deflected save.

Uhl led the Gophers with five shots on the night, all on target. Taylor Wodnick and Nicole Baier added two shots apiece. Senior Cat Parkhill stood between the posts for the Maroon and Gold, collecting three saves to earn the shutout.   STATS

The Gophers are back in action this Sunday when they host their last home match of the season against Northwestern.  The University of Minnesota will honor seven graduating seniors who will be departing the program at the end of the season. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m.