Gophers soccer heads into season counting on — and ready for — a challenge

Preparing for its conference schedule is a test for any Big Ten women’s soccer team.

“Our conference is the best soccer conference in the country top to bottom,” Gophers coach Erin Chastain said. “I think it’s challenging [to get ready for the conference season], especially given the short preseason, but it’s also fun and exciting.”

Chastain begins her fifth season as the Gophers coach on Thursday at home against BYU — the first of six nonconference matches for the Gophers before they open their Big Ten schedule Sept. 11 at Nebraska.

The Gophers return 14 players from last year’s team, which reached the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and advanced to the Sweet 16 round for the first time since 2010. Joining them are nine freshmen and four transfers.

“We will rely heavily on our returners as they executed in pressured moments all year for our team,” Chastain said.

Among the returning players are forward Paige Kalal, who was second-team All-Big Ten; midfielder/defender Ashley Thurk, who was named to the freshman All-Big Ten team; and goalkeeper Sarah Martin, who had seven shutouts last season as a freshman and posted a goals-against average of 0.714, sixth-best in program history.

“We lost some key pieces to graduation, and it’s always difficult to replace that,” Chastain said.

“Those three players spent three to five years in our program and ended playing the best soccer of their careers,” Chastain said. “We have some new faces who will certainly contribute to our production and look forward to seeing them step up.”

Among the newcomers is midfielder Mariah Nguyen, who joins the Gophers after three seasons at St. Thomas and one at Bemidji State. Nguyen has played for the Minnesota Aurora since their inaugural season in 2022. Also joining the Gophers are forward Freya Jupp, a transfer from DePaul who is a member of England’s national team; midfielder Keegan Schmeiser, who spent the past two seasons at Penn State; and midfielder Tatiana Cunningham, a starter for San Jose State the past three seasons.

The Gophers finished in a tie for seventh place in the Big Ten last season, when all 10 of the teams that qualified for the conference tournament also advanced to the NCAA tournament. The Gophers were one of seven Big Ten teams to reach the third round, where they lost to eventual NCAA champion North Carolina 3-0.