Simone Kolander, Maddie Gaffney and Sydney Squires scored goals and Tarah Hobbs made five saves as the Gophers beat Purdue 3-1 on Friday night at the Rob (formerly known as Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium on the St. Paul campus).
U soccer atop Big Ten after three wins
Road wins over two ranked teams and at home over Purdue have the Gophers in first place in Big Ten women's soccer.
September 26, 2015 at 9:54AM
The win makes Minnesota 8-1-2 overall and 3-0 in conference play. The Gophers beat Ohio State and Penn State last weekend on their home fields.
Kolander, a junior forward, got her third goal in as many games in the sixth minute for a 1-0 Gophers lead. Gaffney scored in the 21st minute (it was reported at first Kolander had the goal).
Purdue ruined the shutout in the 70th minute when Makaela Nellams put the ball in on a penalty kick.
The Gophers' two-goal lead was restored when Sydney Squires scored on a header in the 79th minute.
Kolander now has six goals on nine shots on goal. She was the Big Ten offensive player of the week for last week's efforts.
Minnesota is the lone unbeaten, untied team left in conference play. Northwestern and Michigan State are 2-0-1 each.
Next up for Minnesota is Indiana at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Rob. The Hoosiers are 3-1-4, 0-1-2.
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