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Mark Privratsky
It feels like it's as good a time as any to be a MN womens soccer fan right now. We've got a thriving youth and semi pro culture, more and more Minnesotans going pro, and generally just so many storylines to follow. The stepping stone for taking our players from their potential and promise at the youth level to bigger and better things in the pros has historically been the college game, and this year showed that in spades. As a result of both individual player improvement, and the improvement of the programs we see Minnesotans contributing to, we saw more Minnesotans making a difference in the NCAA Tournament than at any time in recent memory. Clare Gagne and Maddie Dahlien played big parts in UNC winning another NCAA Title and quickly earned NWSL contracts with the KC Current and Seattle Reign. Khyah Harper paced a Gopher attack that ran all the way to the Sweet 16, and she too earned an NWSL deal with Gotham as result. Meanwhile Izzy Engle scored 19 goals as a Freshman to be named 2nd Team All American along with another goal scorer Kaitlyn MacBean, who earned 4th team honors after continuing her meteoric production at Penn State. We'll dig into some of the 2024 stat leaders from our year long player tracking, some of the other award winners from this past year and some of the shows that highlighted the standout Minnesotans this past year. Clare Gagne, Maddie Dahlien, Kyhah Harper all sign with NWSL teams
It was a pleasant surprise to Equal Time followers all around last week when we saw 3 Minnesotans sign guaranteed deals in the NWSL following the 2024 college season. Minnesota is not short on pros in the women's game overall but this was something special. While we regularly check in with pros from abroad, and we've been following the recent USL Super League signings like Jenny Vetter and Katie Duong, the NWSL has been an elusive level for MN players to land.
This winter, after a hugely exciting NCAA Tournament, it was clear that our local players did not go unnoticed. Clare Gagne transferred to the historic UNC program as a grad player from Brown, where she has stood out as the top class keeper in the Ivy. She took her one year chance at UNC and turned it into a Defensive Player of the Year award, and a contract with KC Current to play the worlds first womens soccer purpose built stadium. Her teammate Maddie Dahlien had to miss chunks of the season to play for the US U-20 World Cup squad, and no matter where she played she efficiently created goals. Obviously the Seattle Reign took note and gave her an offer she could not refuse. Khyah Harper of Minnesota was scoring goals like crazy all year, and the Gophers clicked into place around her, allowing her to scoring 17 goals and earn some All American honors along the way to signing with Gotham FC off a serendipitous senior year. And a shout out to the do-it-all Gopher midfielder Sophia Boman who has a camp invite to KC with a chance to expand the Minnesotan NWSL presence, as well. Interview with Clare Gagne of Brown, UNC, and now KC CurrentGophers make the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2010
Interview with Khyah Harper of the Gophers and now Gotham FCAll America and Conference Award Winners
Interview with 2024 National Save Percentage Leader
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MINUTES PER GAME
Bayliss Flynn - Montana - 91.43 Grace Pohlidal - Army - 90.63 Sophia Boman - Minnesota - 90 Sarah Martin - Minnesota - 90 GOALS AGAINST AVERAGE (above 500 minutes) Bayliss Flynn - Montana - .35 (.925 SV%) Emma Knack - SDSU - .74 (.791 SV%) Clare Gagne - UNC - .83 (.771 SV%) Megan Plashcko - TCU - .86 (.759 SV%) |
G+A PER 90 (above 500 minutes)
Izzy Engle - Notre Dame - 1.247 (19g, 1a) Khyah Harper - Minnesota - 1.129 (16g, 6a) Paige Peltier - Boston College - 1.040 (6g, 4a) Kaitlyn MacBean - Penn State - .985 (16g, 2a) Berit Parten - Iowa - .832 (7g, 3a) Katelyn Beulke - SDSU - .817 (9g, 3a) Olivia Knoepfle - UNI - .799 (6g, 4a) Paige Kalal - Minnesota - .608 (2g, 9a) Maya Hansen - Iowa - .606 (5g, 1a) |
Interview with Izzy Engle of Notre Dame and USYNT
Thank you for your support!
As we wrap a busy 2024 D1 college season and take a bit of a slow down into winter, we'd like to thank all of you who donate to our coverage. Thank you to all of the players and coaches who help us tell stories around the game that we all love. We could not do this without you! Whether it's sharing our videos, subscribing to YouTube and following us on Insta, all of your support helps us grow the game together.
If you appreciate our work, share it on social media, subscribe to us on YouTube, or become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $2/month! Thank you so much for your support!
If you appreciate our work, share it on social media, subscribe to us on YouTube, or become a supporter on Patreon for as little as $2/month! Thank you so much for your support!
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