The 2026 season has started well for the Golden Gopher soccer team. A win and two other good performances against ranked teams started the campaign. Now the Gophers are 1-1-1 (W-D-L) in Big Ten play after the first two weeks of conference play. Last season Minnesota didn't make the Big Ten Tournament and so far they look like they will rectify that this season. This week the Gophers take their first long road swing of the season as they face the Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers before returning to Minnesota for a home match against Maryland next week.
Last Week
Gophers 2–2 Northwestern
Last weekend Minnesota had a tough test against the Northwestern Wildcats. Minnesota scored first inside the opening 20 minutes, thanks for an Ellen Neuharth strike with an assist from Ava Westlund. Northwestern's Megan Norkettn scored 10 minutes later to level the score before the break. Five minutes into the second half the Wildcats added another tally, coming off the boot of Olivia Elliott. As time ticked away it looked like the Gophers would fall to the Wildcats, but the maroon and gold were given a huge reprieve with less than five minutes to go. After a VAR review confirmed a foul inside the box Ava Westlund stepped up the spot and sent home the match tying goal, getting the hosts at least one point in the match.
This Week
Gophers at Indiana
First up on the Indiana swing is a trip to Bloomington in the south of the state. The Hoosier come into the match at 4-1-4 (1-0-2) on the season, with just 2 wins at home in five matches played. Indiana comes off two consecutive losses, one to Ohio State and the most recent to Wisconsin. Indiana has only four players who have scored multiple goals this season and just six total goal scorers. On the other side of the pitch primary keeper Dani Jacobson has 8 saves and 14 goals allowed this season. Minnesota holds the advantage in the series with 20 wins in 34 meetings, including taking down the Hoosier in their last meeting.
Gophers at Purdue
After the stop in Bloomington the Gophers head north to West Lafayette, IN to meet the Purdue Boilermakers in their second match of the road swing. Minnesota has a good record of 7 wins in 13 matches while playing in West Lafayette. But they will meet an extremely good 8-1-1 Boilermakers team on Sunday afternoon. Purdue's only loss came at the hands of UCLA in the Big Ten opener during Purdue's two match trip to California. Unlike Minnesota who faced two ranked opponents during non-conference play, the Boilermakers didn't challenge themselves much during that slate. Purdue did outscore their non-conference opponents 34-2, but their highest profile opponent was the Evansville Purple Aces.
