Mark Privratsky The regular season is nearly done and we've got Minnesotans fighting for Conference crowns. In the Summit League, Megan Prazich and Denver look read to win the title unless SDSU can catch them with help from their Dakota rivals. South Dakota is likely safely in the playoffs, but North Dakota, St Thomas and NDSU will have to scrap for a final birth in the postseason as they sit outside the top 6. In the Missouri Valley, Drake sits in 1st off more Angela Gutierrez contributions and UNI's Minnesota 5 is hoping for a miracle comeback. In the Horizon League, Clara Broecker and UW Milwaukee are rolling with a 6 point lead in the final weekend. Catch up on 120+ Minnesotans playing D1 and stay tuned for postseason coverage! Megan Prazich anchors Denver Defense towards Summit League TitleDenver are the one Summit League team left unbeaten, and if you’ve watched some of their games, you may have noticed a Megan Prazich sized reason why. The Maple Grove native has locked in a spot in Center defense and has only sat out 12 minutes all season, holding down a Denver squad that has given up just 4 goals in 6 Summit League games. Denver play at North Dakota State on Thursday, Oct 19 and at North Dakota, Sunday October 22. Both of those squads have an outside chance of postseason play and will be desperate for points. Denver has to win both games, or hope that South Dakota State also drops points, as they sit 4 points back with 1 game in hand. SDSU needs rivals help for Summit League crown, South Dakota looking safe bet for PlayoffsIt comes down to Denver and South Dakota State. South Dakota State need Denver to drop points against UND and NDSU, while the Jacks also win out their remaining games at Oral Roberts, at Kansas City, and vs Omaha at home, Tues Oct 24. If Denver does drop points this weekend, SDSU will be in control, as the 24th is a make up game from earlier this fall, so they will know if they have a chance. South Dakota is comfortably in the playoffs coming into the final weekend, sitting in 3rd and ahead UND, St Thomas and NDSU. |
TOP MINUTES OF MN D1's, 2023 Season
1) Emmy Ellington, Western Illinois - 89.9 min per game (899 mins) 2) Maddie Ishaug, Wisconsin - 89.07 min per game (1158 mins) 3) Megan Prazich, Denver - 89 min per game (1068 mins) 4) Olivia Rowe, St Thomas, St Thomas - 88.3 min per game (883 mins) 5) Meghan Plascko, Minnesota - 88 min per game (1057 mins) 6) Clara Broecker, UW Milwaukee - 86.7 min per game (867 mins) 7) Sophia Boman, Minnesota - 85 min per game (1024 minutes) 8) Kendall Quall, St Thomas - 81.9 min per game (819 mins) 9) Abi Fransen, Minnesota - 81.5 min per game (897 mins) 10) Amanda Cassidy, Loyola Chicago - 81.07 min per game (1054 mins) 11) Abby Brantner, St Thomas - 80.9 min per game (809 mins) 12) Katharine Ashley, Illinois State - 80.8 min per game (808 mins) |
First Years who Play
Olivia Bohl, UNI 75.83 min per game (910 minutes) 2 assists Rita Moran, Western Illinois 74 min per game (740 minutes) 1 assist |
Games to Watch
Thursday October 5
UNI at Murray State Kickoff: 3pm Stream: ESPN+ Drake at Missouri State Kickoff: 7pm Stream: ESPN+ South Dakota State at Denver Kickoff: 8pm Stream: Summit League Network Sunday, October 8 Illinois at Minnesota Kickoff: 1pm Watch: Big Ten Network |
Sunday, October 15
St Thomas at South Dakota State Kickoff: 1pm Stream: Summit League Network South Dakota at North Dakota State Kickoff: 1pm Stream: Summit League Network Penn State at Northwestern Kickoff: 5pm Watch: Big Ten Network Nebraska at Minnesota Kickoff: 1pm Stream: BTN+ |
Player Stat Tracker
Kassandra Schoen - 3 goals, 431 minutes in 10 games
Arkansas-Pine Bluff
Brisha Musungu - 4 goals, 1 assist, 1118 minutes in 14 games
Army
Hannah Pohlidal - 6 minutes in 1 game
Auburn
Maddie Lo - 0.00 GAA, 33 minutes played in 2 games
Austin Peay
Hannah Zahn - 1 goal, 746 minutes in 13 games
Boston College
Andi Barth - 1 assist, 613 minutes in 10 games
Brown
Clare Gagne - .47 GAA, 17 saves, 4 shutouts in 9 games
Denver
Shay Payne - DNP
Megan Prazich - 1068 minutes in 12 games
Drake
Brooke Davies - 388 minutes in 12 games
Delaney Goertzen - 587 minutes in 11 games
Angela Gutierrez - 2 goals, 3 assists, 596 minutes in 596 minutes
Florida Atlantic
Mia Sennes - 48 minutges in 3 games
Idaho State
Sienna Latta - 1 goal, 252 minutes in 11 games
Illinois State
Katharine Ashley - 808 minutes in 10 games
Erica Moline - 168 minutes in 6 games
Kansas State
Rilyn Rintoul - 383 minutes in 9 games
Kent State
Luca Ralph - 309 minutes in 11 games
Lipscomb
Lydia Hindt - 1 assist, 632 minutes in 14 games
Long Beach State
Katarina Decaroli - 48 minutes, 5.66 GAA in 2 games
Loyola Chicago
Amanda Cassidy - 2 goals, 1054 minutes in 13 games
Jordan Pascarella - 277 minutes in 5 games
Marquette
Chloe Olson - 1.54 GAA, 7 saves, 233 minutes in 3 games
Abby Ruhland - DNP
Minnesota
Sophia Barjesth - 355 minutes in 10 games
Alma Beaton - 17 minutes in 2 games
Sophia Boman - 5 goals, 3 assists, 1024 minutes in 12 games
Grace Fogarty - DNP
Abi Frandsen - 1 goal, 897 minutes in 11 games
Khyah Harper - 2 assists, 459 minutes in 11 games
Sadie Harper - 266 minutes in 9 games
Taylor Heimerl - 1 assist, 495 minutes in 12 games
Paige Kalal - 1 goal, 1 assist, 546 minutes in 12 games
Sarah Martin - DNO
Megan Plaschko - .77 GAA, 27 saves, 6 shutouts, 1057 minutes in 12 games
Maddy Raymond - 15 minutes in 2 games
Maddie Shannon - DNP
Kendall Stadden - 16 minutes in 2 games
Jelena Zbiljic - 581 minutes in 12 games
Navy
Emma Frommelt - 1 goal, 1 assist, 127 minutes in 7 games
Nebraska
Lauren Buzzell - DNP
North Carolina
Maddie Dahlien - 1 goal, 2 assists, 329 minutes in 10 games
North Carolina-Ashville
Ava Bjorkman-Tracy - 1 assist, 875 minutes in 12 games
North Dakota
Katie Alto - DNP
Sydney Bakritzes - DNP
Jessica Machovec - 21 minutes in 3 games
Avery Toms - 322 minutes in 13 games
NDSU
Paige Goaley - 2 goals, 1 assist, 746 minutes in 13 games
Madalyn Grate - 1 assist, 191 minutes in 9 games
Jess Hanley - 1 goal, 2 assists, 721 minutes in 10 games
Kaitlyn Hanson - 507 minutes in 9 games
Kelsey Kallio - 2 goals, 3 assists, 619 minutes in 13 games
Olivia Lovick - 642 minutes in 13 games
Maddie Majewski -47 minutes in 3 games
Izzy Smith - DNP
Ave Stanchina - 1 goal, 1 assist, 438 minutes in 13 games
Mckenna Strand - 1 assist, 703 minutes in 13 games
Loretta Wacek - 1 goal, 1 assist, 594 minutes in 13 games
Olivia Watson - 4 goals, 1 assist, 978 minutes in 13 games
Northeastern
Lauren Ahles - 4 goals, 1 assist, 483 minutes in 12 games
Jessie Hunt - 4 goals, 8 assists, 917 minutes in 12 games
Northern Illinois University
Jordyn Saddler - DNP
Northern Iowa
Morgan Barnette - 2 goals, 420 minutes in 12 games
Olivia Bohl - 2 assists, 910 minutes in 12 games
Lauren Heinsch - 5 goals, 2 assists, 749 minutes in 12 games
Olivia Knoepfle - 5 goals, 5 assists, 641 minutes in 12 games
Jenna Nyblom - 20 minutes in 2 games
Northwestern
Ramira Ambrose - 33 minutes in 4 games
Sydney Panek - 4 minutes in 1 game
Notre Dame
Paige Peltier - 76 minutes in 6 games
Omaha
Lindsey Birch - 316 minutes in 11 games
Oregon State
Anna Wagner - 56 minutes in 3 games
Penn State
Kaitlyn MacBean - 3 goals, 726 minutes in 12 games
Seton Hall
Ella Conger - 49 minutes in 4 games
South Dakota State
Kayla Anderson - 2 goals, 2 assists, 557 minutes in 12 games
Katelyn Beulke - 3 goals, 2 assists, 410 minutes in 12 games
Lauren Eckerle - 1 assist, 783 minutes in 10 games
Ava Grate - DNP
Maya Hansen - 5 goals, 1 assist, 376 minutes in 7 games
Katherine Jones - 2 goals, 2 assists, 817 minutes in 12 games
Emma Knack - 0.67 GAA, 2 Saves, 135 minutes in 3 games
Jocelyn Tanner - .67 GAA, 29 Saves, 4 shutouts, 945 minutes in 12 games
South Dakota
Brooklyn Bordson - 2 assists, 735 minutes in 12 games
Izzy Quintavalle - 1 goal, 4 assists, 737 minutes in 12 games
SIU-Edwardsville
Mary Fetter - 1 goal, 369 minutes in 10 games
St Thomas
Abby Brantner - 2 goals, 809 minutes in 10 games
Ella Bryant - 102 minutes in 6 games
Sofia Caballero - 1 assist, 760 minutes in 10 games
Annika Eckroth - 44 minutes in 1 game
Emma Fournier - 1 goal, 333 minutes in 10 games
CJ Fredkove - 1 goal, 73 minutes in 5 games
Jasmine Gates - 1 goal, 3 assists, 542 minutes in 10 games
Olivia Graupmann - 0.00 GAA, 0 Saves, 18 minutes in 1 game
Abby Hoiska - 1 goal, 1 assist, 179 minutes in 9 games
Lexi Huber - 1 goal, 2 assists, 450 minutes in 10 games
Cedar Jorgenson - 226 minutes in 9 games
Molly Knoblauch - 615 minutes in 10 games
Anna Koepke - 144 minutes in 5 games
Sydney Kubes - 424 minutes in 8 games
McKenna Lehman - 62 minutes in 6 games
Bella Meier - 167 minutes in 6 games
Lissa Mizutani - 1 goal, 672 minutes in 10 games
Mariah Nguyen - 5 goals, 1 assist, 611 minutes in 10 games
Kendall Quall - 819 minutes in 10 games
Camryn Rintoul - 1 goal, 774 minutes in 10 games
Olivia Rowe - 1.33 GAA, 51 saves, 883 minutes in 10 games
Tatum Trettel - 48 minutes in 3 games
Stetson University
Alexis Smith - 546 minutes in 12 games
University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley
Ana Recarte-Pacheco - 2 goals, 494 minutes in 7 games
Utah Tech
Madison Monson - 49 minutes in 3 games
Wake Forest
Payton Cahill - 0.00 GAA, 1 save, 2 shutouts, 180 minutes in 2 games
Western Illinois
Emmy Ellington - 899 minutes in 10 games
Rita Moran - 1 assist, 740 minutes in 10 games
Wisconsin
Dara Adringa - 109 minutes in 11 games
Maddie Ishaug - 1 assist, 1158 minutes in 13 games
Kenzie Jacobson - 1 assist, 108 minutes in 10 games
Maddie Poor - 108 minutes in 5 games
Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Clara Broecker - 3 goals, 2 assists, 867 minutes in 10 games
Alyssa Marceau - DNP
ICYMI: Interview with Angela Gutierrez of Drake
ICYMI: Interview with Darryl Isaacs and Derek Burns of Dinktown Athletics (Gopher NIL deal)
ICYMI: Interview with Jackie Jares of UMD
The University of Minnesota and University of St Thomas have gone a combined 11 games without a win as they’ve transitioned into Big Ten and Summit League play respectively. At times, the teams have shown well defensively – nearly two thirds of those matches have seen the teams allow a goal or fewer – but on the offensive end, we just have not been seeing Minnesota’s DI programs put many goals on the board. With 6 games remaining for each team this fall, let’s dive into the offensive struggles and what could be done to turn them around down the final stretch of the 2023 season.
What player steps up individually?
The simplest way to gut check a team’s lack of scoring is to ask: are the scorers actually scoring? Are you getting goals from your forward line? Are your attacking midfielders converting the chances they’re getting and creating? Are your aerial threats scoring on the service they’re getting? Because at a certain point, you can create as many expected goals (xG) as you want with your buildup play. But when that xG is created, is it actually being converted into a goal? As star Gopher Sophia Romine puts it “someone’s just got to want to score.”
POSTGAME | MINN 0-0 IOWA@sophia_romine13 on the road result, the need for @GopherSoccer players to just go out and get a goal, battling through scrappy B1G Foul-a-thons, and more! pic.twitter.com/K4qqOt5Bua
— Equal Time Soccer (@EqualTimeSoccer) September 24, 2023
When a team like the Gophers has as much attacking talent as they have – particularly in the midfield, but also in the forward group – it’s not crazy to put some real scoring expectations on them. The team’s total offensive stats look ok overall, but 14 of the U’s 17 goals have come in three games. In 5 games, they haven’t scored at all and in the rest their scoring has been a significant challenge. For this group, that is – frankly – unacceptable. And it’s led the Gophers to continue to tweak the starting group, the way they sub, and who’s in the rotation as the season has gone on in an attempt to unlock individual players.
For a team like St Thomas, the tweaks have been even more dramatic. The rotation overall has been as broad as you’d expect from the Toms. 20+ players might see time in any game. Even the centerbacks might be rotated (a rarity in virtually any level of competitive soccer). Part of the reason for so many Toms seeing time is that St Thomas really does have a mountain of players who are capable of – at minimum – contributing on a Summit League team. But so many players being rotated in and out also limits every individual player’s ability to settle their role both in that individual game and as their role shifts from game to game. That leads into the next layer of analysis.
Are players in the right place within the formation and system?
If you simply scan a box score after a game and see a traditional forward or attacker didn’t score, didn’t have many shots on goal, etc, your instinct might be to walk away thinking “why did *that player* not step up and impact the game?” And while a certain chunk of responsibility for their performance lands at each individual player’s feet, the role they are asked to play within their team’s system and formation also play a significant role.
In their most honest moments, Gopher attackers might say “this system is somewhat new to me, I’m not getting enough minutes, or I’m not getting enough service.” St Thomas attackers might say “my role changes game to game and my shifts are so short I can’t settle into a rhythm.” And regardless of precisely how much truth there is in those kinds of statements for each individual player you pick out from each roster, there is truth to the fact that where someone plays in a given formation can (significantly) change the way they produce offensively – AND the impact can change wildly game to game based on how the *other* team plays.
In short: finding the right spot for a single player can be hard, and finding the right spot for an entire team can be exponentially harder. It’s why we’ve seen so much tinkering. Ellie Tempero can play as a holding mid/6 but also as more of a box to box mid/8 or even as a technically gifted attacking mid/10. But she’s strong enough and savvy enough that Head Coach Sheila McGill has now deployed her as a centerback. Megan Nemec is a natural winger who has received national acclaim for her ability on outside but Head Coach Erin Chastain has, at times, shifted her to the sole central forward role in the starting lineup to see if something can be unlocked (and to get all three attacking mids – Sophia Boman, Paige Kalal, Sophia Romine – into the starting lineup. Something I don’t disagree with. They all can ball.)
But where people play and how many people play can also be a double edged sword. Play too few and you might be leaving options on the table in terms of unlocking a rotation. Play too many and, despite feeling like you’re making more players happy, you might actually make *fewer* players happy because even fewer of them feel like they’re being given the sized role they feel they’ve earned. In other words, those lineup choices can be unbelievably sensitive. If you find the coach that nails the intersecting factors of communicating roles to players, keeping those roles consistent and/or known, playing enough players to unlock the best performance for their team, but not playing so many that the growth of their best players is limited: let me know. Because it seems like an almost unwinnable challenge.
Is it the correct system and formation?
And finally, even if individual players are doing their best AND they’re put in the best position *within* the given system and formation, things still might not really work. That’s when you might see teams make more foundational tweaks to their formation or system itself. At times you’ve probably seen me speak about formation choices in an overly simplistic binary choice such as “trying to increase the odds of scoring/wing” vs “trying to decrease the odds of conceding/losing”. Add a holding midfielder in place of a striker so your defense improves even if your chance creation theoretically gets reduced a bit in the final third.
Aside from being overly simplistic, it’s also not always entirely accurate. Many times the formation is decided because of a number of factors: the mix of players you have that year, which players can shift to a different position most easily, adjusting to a weakness you’ve had in the past, focusing on unlocking certain players even if it means others might then have to adjust more significantly, etc.
But even after weeks of testing in the spring and multiple days of training before the season starts to set up the lineup you think grapples with those numerous factors best, the games that count in the fall get weighted much more heavily in the calculus of formation and system. After ten games of real life experience, your theories no longer exist as hypotheticals – your games have told you how those theories holdup. Patterns that return game after game no matter how different the opponent is are not some whim to dismiss during a film or strategy session. The challenges that present themselves in those recurring patterns are now nearly objective truths – at least in this moment in time, with this group, in this schedule.
Your formation alone is not the reason for those challenges you continue to face. But after tweaking everything you can about individual performance and where individuals are being played in your formation, changing your formation itself *might* be the thing that helps you finally address them.
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