Gophers Rebound with 5-1 Rout of Purdue

Rebounding off of a disappointing loss on Friday, the Golden Gophers took to the pitch today with a determination to end the road trip on a high note. The team did just that and then some, scoring five goals to earn the 5-1 victory. Taylor Uhl notched her third hat trick of the season to become the first Gopher in program history to do so. Katie Thyken chipped in the other two for her first multi-goal game of her career.

Minnesota showed its firepower early, tallying 11 shots, nine on goal in the first half. The Gophers first found the scoreboard at the 14:25 minute mark when Tamara Strahota was tripped up in the box, prompting a successful penalty kick from Uhl. Thyken set the score at 2-0 when she connected with a corner kick for a point blank header into the net.

Four minutes into the second half, Uhl scored her second goal of the game, beating a defender one-on-one for a clear shot. They ball was advanced by Strahota to put Uhl in scoring position.

A failed slide tackle in the Gopher box resulted in a penalty kick for the Boilermakers. Cat Parkhill dove to block the first attempt but the kicker followed through with a shot in the opposite direction. The Gophers quickly answered with a second goal from Thyken. Taylor Wodnick and Allie Phillips served a through ball to find Thyken free of a defender. Thyken took the shot from six yards to put the Gophers up 4-1 with plenty left to play.

In the 86^th minute, Uhl extended the Gopher lead notching her third hat trick of the season and the fifth of her career.

Minnesota’s defense played with near-perfect aggression to limit Purdue to only nine shots in the match, while Minnesota’s offense fired 21 shots, 16 on target, in the match. Minnesota moves to 10-7-1, 5-4-1 B1G while Purdue drops to 8-8-3, 2-7-1 B1G.

Final Stats

Only one contest remains on the Gophers’ regular season schedule before the team heads to the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota travels to Nebraska next Friday, Oct. 26 for a 4:00 p.m. matchup against the Cornhuskers.