By Michael Seidl, special to Fifty Five One.
After sweeping two B1G away matches last weekend, the Minnesota Gophers moved up to No. 8 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) rankings. That puts the team in the NSCAA rankings for the fifth-straight week and is the highest-ever rating in the program’s history dating back to 1994.
A major reason for Minnesota’s success is senior forward Simone Kolander who leads the conference in scoring with 9 goals and is tied for 4th place in assists with four so far this season.
When reflecting on her career, Kolander cannot help but recognize the change that has come over the program. In 2013, Kolander’s first year on campus and head coach Stefanie Golan’s second at the helm, the Gophers returned to the NCAA tournament after a two year absence. After a first round exit and failing to return to the tournament in 2014, the 2015 Minnesota team progressed past the opening round for the first time since 2010.
Now in 2016, Kolander is part of a program that is in quite a different place. “We have gone from a team that hopes to get into the NCAA tournament,” Kolander begins, “to a team that has national recognition at the beginning of the season.” Thus far, Minnesota has done more than enough to back up the preseason hype, starting the season 9-2-1 (3-0-1). Kolander has elevated her play as well, earning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week after netting two goals on the opening weekend of Big Ten play.
The target forward has noticed changes within the program that have nothing to do with national rankings or individual accolades. “I’ve seen our style of play change as well…we’ve gone from more of a defensive strategy to where we have the ball a lot and we are comfortable passing the ball and possessing against the best teams in the country. So that has been very exciting to be a part. It’s been cool to see the growth.”
The former Lakeville North student athlete now finds herself as a key component of a team with a realistic chance of competing for a Big Ten Championship. Competition is nothing Simone shies away from. The daughter of two former University of Minnesota athletes, her mother being a club soccer standout before the program gained varsity status and her father an alumni of the basketball program, Kolander learned lessons in both how to carry herself as a Division I athlete as well as how to compete like one. “I am a good mixture of both of their personalities… My parents are so competitive. We will be playing a board game…and I will be shocked at how into it they get.”
She credits her parents with not only encouraging her to be her best but also with supporting her through her transition from Prep standout to collegiate athlete. “Obviously they are able to give me very legitimate advice and help. And they’ve been in my shoes. They’ve been college student athletes. So they know exactly what I’m going through.”
The amount of support from her family has helped keep Simone level headed and on a very even keel. Even though she was identified in the preseason as a candidate for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, the top award given to Division I soccer players and referred to as the MAC Herman for short, Kolander is much more excited to talk about team goals and aspirations for 2016. “We talked about ‘What was our end goal’. We wanted to be in the NCAA Tournament and we want to go deep in the tournament. We want to win more than just one game.”
With Kolander scoring at a pace of one goal per game, it’s easy to envision a Gophers squad that are destined for a longer NCAA run than we have seen in a long time.
Notes: Tarah Hobbs (Hugo, Minn.) was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week. This is the second-straight honor for Hobbs, and fifth of her career. She is the first soccer player to earn back-to-back individual honors since 2014.
Hobbs recorded two shutouts last weekend against Indiana and Purdue. Her weekend included two big saves, including one in the final minute of the match at Indiana. In four conference games, Hobbs has allowed just one goal.
The Gophers host Wisconsin (Oct. 1) this weekend at the Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium. Saturday’s match against the Badgers is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. CT
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