Minnesota Gopher soccer is officially back for the 2026 season and the Maroon and Gold have started off the season hot. A blowout season opening win followed by forcing a draw with a top twenty team has been a great start for a team that failed to make the Big Ten Playoffs in 2025. With a 6-3-8 (2-3-6 conf.) record in 2025 Minnesota was gunning for a turnaround season and they may have already started that.
Gophers 4 - 0 North Dakota
Minnesota's season started off with a bang against the Fighting Hawks. Two goals inside the first five minutes of play meant that it was almost certain the Gophers would win their season opener. Minnesota added on two more second half goals to secure a season opening win in front of a crowd of 617 at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium.
Gophers 1 – 1 Georgia
Gopher seoccer's second match of the weekend put them against #19 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in a match that heavily favoured the Dogs. Minnesota's gritty first half prevented the Bulldogs from having any real chance, until a penalty was called on goalkeeper Sarah Martin. Georgia's Emma Pettersen converted from the spot to put the visitors ahead. After dominating the entire second half to that point, the Gophers answered back with a Davy Mokelke goal, in what ended up being the final goal of the afternoon, to force a draw in front of 559 fans.
Minnesota could not have been more dominant in the season opener against North Dakota and Georgia provided the side with a good test early in the season. We spoke with Associate Head Coach Maya Hayes and players Caroline Birdsell and Davy Mokelke, which you can watch above (Hayes) and below (Birdsell/Mokelke).
NDSU Bison vs Gophers
Next for the Gophers is another border battle as they head to Fargo, ND to face the Bison of North Dakota State. NDSU has had a rough start to the 2026 season, falling to both Green Bay (0–3) and Marquette (0–2) last week. Both players and coach Maya Hayes reiterated they don't overlook any opponent, so expect the Gophers to come out strong at Dacotah Field on Thursday.
