Jordyn Wickes scored two goals 12 minutes apart in the second half and host and top-seeded Michigan State came back to beat the eighth-seeded Gophers in the Big Ten women's soccer tournament quarterfinals Sunday.
Gophers soccer team falls to Michigan State in Big Ten tournament quarterfinals
McKenna Buisman scored early on, but the top-seeded Spartans rallied in the second half.
October 30, 2022 at 10:59PM
Playing before an announced 2,838 fans at DeMartin Stadium in East Lansing, Mich., the Gophers (8-8-3) scored 4 minutes, 30 seconds into the game on McKenna Buisman's left-footed strike from just outside the penalty area off an assist by Sophia Boman.
"McKenna scored a great goal, she's very capable of scoring highlight-reel goals," Gophers coach Erin Chastain. "It was fun to see in a playoff game, for her to step up in that moment."
Buisman nearly made it 2-0 in the 31st minute, but the Spartans defense managed to force a corner kick after Buisman got past goalkeeper Lauren Kozal.
Wickes scored the equalizer for Big Ten regular-season champion Michigan State (15-1-3) in the 55th minute, Off a corner kick from Ruby Diodati, Zivana Labovic headed it across the box. The ball went to an open Wickes, who kicked it into the open net with her right foot.
In the 67th minute, Wickes took a pass from Celia Gaynor at the top of the box, made a move to give herself some room to shoot and fired in a strike past diving Gophers goalkeeper Megan Plaschko.
The Gophers' season ended with their first appearance in the Big Ten tournament since 2018.
"I think the next step in our growth is understanding what we're capable of and bringing that no matter what the score," Chastain said. "The future of our program is bright, I'm really excited about the core that we have and building with this program. We are very grateful for the young women who are leaving our program and have left their mark."
McElroy honored
St. Thomas wide receiver Andrew McElroy was named Pioneer Football League offensive player of the week Sunday after catching seven passes for 200 receiving yards and two touchdowns in Saturday's 49-42 victory over San Diego. McElroy had TD catches of 75 and 57 yards. He also had a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
NCAA has U ninth
The Gophers moved up one spot to ninth in the NCAA Division I volleyball committee's second and final top 10 rankings of the season. They were 10th in the rankings released Oc. 2. Texas remained No. 1 and Louisville No. 2, followed by Nebraska, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Stanford, the Gophers and Oregon.
Amisha Ramlall burst on to the recruiting scene last season as a freshman and colleges, including the Gophers, quickly took notice.
