NCAA Soccer and Cross Country, a home football finale and hockey, and oh yeah that Gable guy is back!
It’s the weekend before Thanksgiving and it’s a busy one for the Gophers sports teams. NCAA Championships action for soccer and cross-country, the home finales for football and volleyball, a pair of hockey series, and oh yeah that Gable Steveson guy is back on Sunday. Here is a full look at the weekend’s action and where you can watch it all.
Friday November 22nd:
#6 Soccer vs #3 South Carolina @ Chapel Hill, NC 1 PM ESPN+
The Gopher soccer team faces #3 seeded South Carolina in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Gophers are the #6 seed in the region and will face the #3 seeded Gamecocks for a trip to the Sweet 16 and a likely date with #2 seeded North Carolina on Sunday.
Minnesota advanced by defeating South Dakota State 2-0 in the opening round last weekend at Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Graduate Sophia Boman scored both goals for the Gophers with the second coming on a penalty kick. It was the first NCAA Tournament win for Gopher head coach Erin Chastain.
South Carolina advanced by defeating Eastern Carolina 6-0. The Gamecocks got goals fro players young and old as freshman Shea Collins recorded a hat trick while fifth-year Cat Barry added a pair of goals in the win. South Carolina advanced to the SEC Championship game before falling to Texas. They currently rank #14 in the national poll.
Minnesota is 2-0 all time against South Carolina with wins coming in 2010 and 2012. Kickoff is set for 1 PM and will stream live on ESPN+.
Women’s Hockey vs St. Cloud State 6 PM B1G+
The #3 ranked Gopher women’s hockey team will face another ranked opponent coming off of their sweep at #4 UMD last weekend. They Gophers will play a home and home series against #9/10 St. Cloud State with Friday night’s opener at Ridder Arena.
Last weekend the Gophers earned a 4-1 victory on Friday and a 3-2 victory on Saturday over the Bulldogs. Redshirt-senior Abbey Murphy tallied five points (1g-4a) her most in a series this season. Freshman Hannah Clark earned wins in both games as senior Skyler Vetter did not make the trip to Duluth. it is unclear if she will be back this weekend. Minnesota’s 18 conference points moved the program to third leaping over UMD in the WCHA season standings behind Wisconsin and Ohio State.
St. Cloud State is coming off a split of a series against Minnesota State. The Huskies dropped last Friday’s matchup in a 4-1 game, but then bounced back with a 3-2 overtime victory on Saturday. Greta Henderson leads the Huskies with 8 points on the season one ahead of a pack with seven. One of those is Emma Gentry who leads SCSU with five goals on the year. In goal SCSU has been getting great play from Finnish freshman Emelia Kyrkko. She was named the NCAA freshman of the Month in October and currently is 4-2-2 with a 1.85 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
St. Cloud State Huskies are coming off a 1-1 series against Minnesota State. The Huskies dropped last Friday’s matchup in a 4-1 game, but then bounced back with a 3-2 overtime victory on Saturday. Minnesota holds a 106-4-4 record over St. Cloud State and are 8-1-1 in the last 10 matchups.
Minnesota will win easily if they can score early and often. A more defensive game helps the Huskies. The history is in the Gophers favor as they are 106-4-4 all-time against St. Cloud State and are 8-1-1 in the last 10 matchups. Minnesota has never lost to the Huskies at home going 59-0-1. Faceoff is set for 6 PM and will stream on B1G+
Men’s Hockey @ Notre Dame 6 PM Peacock
The Gopher men’s hockey team heads back to Big Ten play after a split of a home and home non-conference series against Bemidji State last weekend. The #4 ranked Gophers defeated the Beavers 5-3 on Thursday at Mariucci Arena before dropping the second game of the series in Bemidji 2-0 on Saturday.
The Gophers head to Notre Dame to complete a stretch of what will be five of six games on the road. After this weekend the Gophers will close out 2024 with six straight home games against Alaska, Michigan, and Michigan State.
A trio of Gophers all lead the team with 15 points on the season in Connor Kurth, Mathew Wood and Jimmy Snuggerud. Kurth’s seven goals on the season is one back of Brody Lamb’s eight for the team lead. Minnesota will continue to split their goaltending between sophmore Nathan Airey and 5th year senior transfer Liam Souliere. Airey has been the shakiest goalie this far, but has had the best team support as he is 6-0 this season with a 2.17 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Souliere is 4-2 on the season but has a 1.40 GAA and a .940 save percentage. He has yet to give up more than two goals in a game this season, but has taking both a 2-1 and a 2-0 loss on the season.
Notre Dame has struggled this season and currently is in sixth place in the Big Ten. They have lost five games in a row coming off of back to back road sweeps at Michigan and Michigan State. Cole Knuble leads the Irish with 13 points on the season and a team high six goals. A pair of Maple Grove, MN natives are right behind with Justin Janicke second on the team in scoring and Danny Nelson fourth. Owen Say has been the goalie the Irish have ridden the most playing a majority of their games. He is 4-4 on the season with a 2.42 GAA and a .934 save percentage.
Faceoff on Friday is set for 6 PM and will stream live on Peacock.
Wrestling @ North Dakota State 6 PM
The Gopher wrestling team hits the road for a duel meet against North Dakota State in Fargo. The 1-0 Gophers should have an easy time with the 0-2 Bison. Minnesota has won seven straight duals dating back to last season. During the current streak, Minnesota has outscored opponents 216-51 and hasn’t allowed more than 12 points in any dual. Minnesota is 21-2 all-time against North Dakota State, including 19 straight wins.
Action begins at 6 PM and will stream live on GoBison.com
Saturday November 23rd:
Cross-Country @ NCAA Championships Madison, WI 9:20 AM ESPNU
The Gopher women’s cross-country team will compete in the NCAA Championships meet Saturday morning in Madison. The gun will go off at 9:20 AM with the race airing on ESPNU. Minnesota advanced by taking second place in the NCAA Midwest Regional a week ago finishing only behind Oklahoma State. It will be the Gophers first trip to the NCAA Championships since a 7th place finish in 2021.
The Gophers come in ranked #23 in the nation, but have had success on this course. At the Pre-nationals meet back in October the Gophers took 13th place against a loaded field. Junior Ali Weimer has been amazing for the Gophers this season taking third place in the Big Ten Championships and breaking the school record by nearly 10 seconds.
Football vs Penn State 2:30 PM CBS
The Gophers finish off their home slate with a Senior Day game against #4 Penn State. Minnesota will look to try and upset the Nittany Lions for the first time since 2019. Kickoff is set for 2:30 PM and will air live on CBS and stream on Paramount +
Women’s Hockey @ St. Cloud State 3 PM B1G+
The second game of the series between the Gophers and Huskies slides up I-94 to St. Cloud. Faceoff is set for 3 PM and will stream on B1G+.
Men’s Hockey @ Notre Dame 5 PM Peacock
Game two between the Gophers and Irish is set for a 5PM faceoff from South Bend. It will once again stream via Peacock.
Volleyball vs Iowa 7PM B1G+
The Gophers play their regular season home finale for the 2024 season when they host Iowa on Saturday night. The Gophers are coming off of a crushing five-set loss at #6 Wisconsin on Wednesday in Madison. Minnesota led 2-1 and had match point in the 5th set but could not hang on. The match against the Hawkeyes could be the final one in the Pav for a quad of Gophers. Melanie Shaffmaster, Phoebe Awoleye, Lydia Grote and Elise McGhie all will be out of eligibility after this season.
The Gophers are still in a fight to earn a top 16 NCAA seed and host the First and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at the Pav in two weekends. The Gophers were the #16 seed the last time the NCAA released their mid-season rankings. Minnesota closes with a pair of road matches next week at Illinois and Ohio State. All three are must wins for the Gophers to lock down that NCAA seed.
Sunday November 24th:
Wrestling vs Campbell 1 PM B1G+
The Gophers return home for their second duel math of the eekend to face the Cambpell Camels at the Pav. It would be another typical sleeper except for the fact that Gable Steveson is set to make his return to the mat on Sunday. Steveson allready was elevated to the #1 Heavyweight ranking this past week and we will see just how rusty he may look. He will get a tough competitor immediately as he is expected to face #7 ranked Taye Ghadiali. The pair have met once before at the 2021 NCAA Championships when Steveson pinned Ghadiali at the 1:27 mark.
The meet will begin at 1 PM and stream on B1G+
Women’s Basketball vs Montana 2 PM B1G+
The 6-0 Gopher women will look to make it seven wins in a row when they host Montana at Williams Arena on Sunday. The Grizz have not bee a walkover this season as they come in with a 3-2 record including a 82-68 win over fellow Big Ten opponent Washington. Mack Konig leads Montana averaging 12.8 points per game.
Minnesota is expected to miss junior Mara Braun for the second consecutive game. Nothing about her injury status has been officially announced but she was in a boot on the bench for Minnesota’s win over Eastern Illinois on Wednesday. Rumors have been swirling that she reinjured the foot that cost her the final half of the season last year and may again be out for the season.
Tip is set for 2 PM and will stream on B1G+.