The Gophers soccer team is preparing for the 2025 season after finishing last season with an overall record of 14-5-3.
The team saw a lot of success last season, making it to the third round of the NCAA tournament before losing to eventual national champion North Carolina.
“I think that having a season like that is really encouraging for our group,” junior Paige Kalal said. “To see that we are capable of getting far in the tournament and dealing with having pressure on us.”
Kalal had a successful 2024 season with a total of two goals and 10 assists. She was ranked second in the conference for assists and eighth in the country.
One dilemma that every college team faces is graduation. The Gophers lost a couple of their influential players at the end of last season, such as Sophia Boman and Khyah Harper.
Harper ended her Gophers career with 19 goals and 17 assists. After spending her first three years dealing with injuries, Harper transformed her career with just one season.
Harper finished her senior year as a MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, winning Big Ten Forward of the Year and scoring the 9th most goals in the nation.
Harper totaled 40 points in the 2024 season. Fueled by multiple hat-tricks, Harper finished the season with 17 goals and six assists.
Boman played four seasons with the Gophers and totaled 23 goals and 12 assists. She was the team captain for her final two years and was a part of the All-Big Ten First Team.
Gophers goalkeeper Sarah Martin talked about how the team is still figuring out how to fill the gaps without those players.
“I don’t think they can be fully replaced,” Martin said. “I guess you don’t realize what kind of roles that they all play until they are gone.”
Gophers junior Kate Childers said everything is a bit quieter at the start of spring practice.
“You don’t hear those upperclassmen, those big vocal presences,” Childers said. “I think it has been cool to see throughout the spring people slowly starting to get more confidence, and all of us talking more.”
Martin, Childers and Kalal will all be going into their third season with the Gophers in 2025. They talked about what it is like preparing to get into a leadership role and help guide the rising freshman.
“We have talked about, off the field, what it means to actually hold each other to the right standards in the weight room,” Martin said. “The energy that we bring and what we talk about off the field.
Martin said the spring helps prepare them to build relationships over the summer with the new players. The team’s first game will be an exhibition game on August 9 against South Dakota