Christa Van Loon And Khyah Harper scored their first goals of the season, Sophie Romine added a late goal and the Gophers football team concluded its 2023 campaign with a winning record after beating Purdue 3-1 on Sunday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Gophers finish 7-6-4 overall and 3-5-2 in Big Ten play, one of three teams tied for ninth with 11 points. Only the top eight teams in the conference qualify for next week’s Big Ten Tournament.
“Our goal is to contend for the NCAA tournament and be in the Big Ten tournament, so that’s what we’re going to work on starting in the offseason next fall,” the Gophers coach said . Erin Chastain said.
VanLoon scored in the 35th minute and Harper in the 50th. The Gophers lost Abi Frandsen to a red card in the penalty area in the 84th minute, and the Boilermakers (3-13-2, 0-8-2) pulled to 2-1 on that of Emily Mathews penalty shot. But Romine restored the Gophers’ two-goal lead with his sixth goal of the season, thanks to an assist from Harper.
Adebayo de Tommies honored
St. Thomas running back Hope Adebayo was named Pioneer Football League Offensive Player of the Week. The Simley junior ran for 197 yards on 13 carries in a 38-6 win at Stetson on Saturday, with a 67-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and a 49-yard touchdown run early in the fourth.
