University of St. Thomas Athletics
Thursday, August 22
DeKalb, Ill. / NIU Soccer and Track & Field Complex
4:00 p.m. Central
at
Northern Illinois
Photo by: Jason Morales Ortiz
Northern Illinois and Minnesota on Tommies’ week two slate
8/21/2024 3:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Tommie women’s soccer travels to Northern Illinois and returns home to South Field for a bout with the Gophers.
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The train keeps on rolling out of the station in 2024 as the Tommie women's soccer team (0-0-1) heads into week two against two quality opponents in the Northern Illinois Huskies (0-0-1) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (1-0-0).
The Tommies, fresh off a hard-fought 1-1 tie with Drake, head down to DeKalb, Illinois on Thursday, August 22nd for a 4 p.m. kick-off against a Huskies side that went 8-8-3 in 2023. Six of their eight wins from a season ago came in the final nine games. The Purple then return home to host the Gophers for the first time on South Field, Sunday, August 25th at 1 p.m. Minnesota finished 7-6-4 in 2024 and defeated St. Thomas 5-0 at Robbie Stadium.
Home Gameday Need to Know
Where to Watch
The Tommies' game against Northern Illinois can be found on Huskies All-Access. Live stats can be viewed HERE.
All St. Thomas Women's Soccer home games and away Summit League contests can be viewed on the Summit League Network with a Midco Sports Plus subscription.
Live stats for all St. Thomas home games can be viewed on Tommiesports.com with links available on the Tommie Women's Soccer team's schedule page.
Deadlocked with Drake
For the second season in a row, the Tommies completed 90 minutes of play against the Drake Bulldogs even at one goal apiece. This time, it was Abby Brantner who scored the Tommies' first goal at 51' in penalty kick fashion.
The Bulldogs scored the game's final goal 10 minutes later.
Brantner joined Mariah Nguyen (2023), Arianna Sanchez (2022), and Lexi Serreyn (2021) as "season's first goal scorers."
Olivia Rowe made eight saves. The mark was one off her career single-game record of nine, a total she hit three times in 2023.
Sydney Kubes, Abby Brantner, Lissa Mizutani, and freshman, Brooke Nygaard, played all 90 minutes.
Scouting the Northern Illinois Huskies
The Huskies finished off the 2023 season as winners of six of their last nine matches and with an 8-8-3 overall record. They played to a 6-4-1 conference record in the MAC where they lost in the first round of the league playoffs to the Kent State Golden Flashes.
NIU opened the 2024 season with a scoreless tie in Chicago against the DePaul Blue Demons. The Huskies did not allow a single shot on goal in the season lid-lifter.
They are helmed by third-year head coach Michael O'Neill.
Thursday's game is the first in program history against St. Thomas.
Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Gophers finished the 2023 season with a 7-6-4 record and 3-5-2 record in the Big Ten. They took three ranked opponents to scoreless ties (#22 Georgia, RV Iowa, and #16 Indiana) and finished in 10th place out of 14 teams in their conference.
They dominated their matchup with the Tommies at home, with a 5-0 win at Robbie Stadium. Sophia Boman recorded a natural hat trick and Sophia Romine added the fifth and final tally. Both Sophia's return as grad students to the 2024 squad after leading the 2023 team in goals and points.
Minnesota is coming off a 2-1 win at home against Creighton. Redshirt freshman, Caroline Birdsell, scored both of the Maroon and Gold's goals within 53 seconds of each other. Sophomore Sarah Martin played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded one save.
They are led by fourth-year head coach Erin Chastain who has led the Gophers to a 23-20-10 record during her tenure.
That 5-0 victory in 2023 is the only official contest between the two programs since St. Thomas went DI.
March to the Summit
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of the nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 1-5-2 conference record in 2023.
Last season's regular season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by two points (61-59). The Purple finished with 15 votes, placing them between North Dakota State (24) and North Dakota (14).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Olivia Rowe were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Nguyen led the Purple in goals (five), points (12), and shots on goal (13) last season while Olivia Rowe started every game between the posts in 2023 and earned five shutouts.
Nice to meet you
The Tommies head into the 2024 season with eight newcomers
Getting to Work
The Tommie Women's Soccer coaching staff welcomed a new face into the fold during the offseason with the addition of Jean Viardin.
Viardin holds a US Soccer Senior A license and has over 20 years of coaching experience at youth clubs, high school teams, the WPSL, and the UPSL.
Coach McGill said of Viardin, "We are incredibly excited to welcome Jean to our team! He brings his experience and knowledge to the program and will make an immediate impact in our games and training. He has a positive yet straightforward mindset and will help our players to develop and succeed both individually and as a whole."
Viardin also served as the General Manager for the National Women's Soccer League's FC Kansas City from 2016-2018. His most recent experience came as the Executive Director & Director of Coaching/Player Development at Maplebrook SC, where he has been since 2011.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Women's Soccer team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieWSoccer.
The Tommies, fresh off a hard-fought 1-1 tie with Drake, head down to DeKalb, Illinois on Thursday, August 22nd for a 4 p.m. kick-off against a Huskies side that went 8-8-3 in 2023. Six of their eight wins from a season ago came in the final nine games. The Purple then return home to host the Gophers for the first time on South Field, Sunday, August 25th at 1 p.m. Minnesota finished 7-6-4 in 2024 and defeated St. Thomas 5-0 at Robbie Stadium.
Home Gameday Need to Know
- Admission to Tommie Women's Soccer is free all season long.
- Visitor Parking is available in the Anderson Parking Facility on South Campus.
- When navigating to the stadium from the Anderson Parking Facility please follow the posted signs directing you to the entrance.
- There will be no concessions available for the 2024 season.
Where to Watch
The Tommies' game against Northern Illinois can be found on Huskies All-Access. Live stats can be viewed HERE.
All St. Thomas Women's Soccer home games and away Summit League contests can be viewed on the Summit League Network with a Midco Sports Plus subscription.
Live stats for all St. Thomas home games can be viewed on Tommiesports.com with links available on the Tommie Women's Soccer team's schedule page.
Deadlocked with Drake
For the second season in a row, the Tommies completed 90 minutes of play against the Drake Bulldogs even at one goal apiece. This time, it was Abby Brantner who scored the Tommies' first goal at 51' in penalty kick fashion.
The Bulldogs scored the game's final goal 10 minutes later.
Brantner joined Mariah Nguyen (2023), Arianna Sanchez (2022), and Lexi Serreyn (2021) as "season's first goal scorers."
Olivia Rowe made eight saves. The mark was one off her career single-game record of nine, a total she hit three times in 2023.
Sydney Kubes, Abby Brantner, Lissa Mizutani, and freshman, Brooke Nygaard, played all 90 minutes.
Scouting the Northern Illinois Huskies
The Huskies finished off the 2023 season as winners of six of their last nine matches and with an 8-8-3 overall record. They played to a 6-4-1 conference record in the MAC where they lost in the first round of the league playoffs to the Kent State Golden Flashes.
NIU opened the 2024 season with a scoreless tie in Chicago against the DePaul Blue Demons. The Huskies did not allow a single shot on goal in the season lid-lifter.
They are helmed by third-year head coach Michael O'Neill.
Thursday's game is the first in program history against St. Thomas.
Scouting the Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Gophers finished the 2023 season with a 7-6-4 record and 3-5-2 record in the Big Ten. They took three ranked opponents to scoreless ties (#22 Georgia, RV Iowa, and #16 Indiana) and finished in 10th place out of 14 teams in their conference.
They dominated their matchup with the Tommies at home, with a 5-0 win at Robbie Stadium. Sophia Boman recorded a natural hat trick and Sophia Romine added the fifth and final tally. Both Sophia's return as grad students to the 2024 squad after leading the 2023 team in goals and points.
Minnesota is coming off a 2-1 win at home against Creighton. Redshirt freshman, Caroline Birdsell, scored both of the Maroon and Gold's goals within 53 seconds of each other. Sophomore Sarah Martin played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded one save.
They are led by fourth-year head coach Erin Chastain who has led the Gophers to a 23-20-10 record during her tenure.
That 5-0 victory in 2023 is the only official contest between the two programs since St. Thomas went DI.
March to the Summit
The Tommies were picked to finish eighth out of the nine teams in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll after their 1-5-2 conference record in 2023.
Last season's regular season conference champion Denver Pioneers were voted to the top of the poll edging out challenger South Dakota State by two points (61-59). The Purple finished with 15 votes, placing them between North Dakota State (24) and North Dakota (14).
Both Mariah Nguyen and Olivia Rowe were named Players to Watch by the conference office.
Nguyen led the Purple in goals (five), points (12), and shots on goal (13) last season while Olivia Rowe started every game between the posts in 2023 and earned five shutouts.
Nice to meet you
The Tommies head into the 2024 season with eight newcomers
- #3 – Melina Knowles – Freshman – Plymouth, Wis.
- #4 – Kayden Scrima – Freshman – Waukesha, Wis.
- #6 – Juliet Carlson – Freshman – Minnetonka, Minn.
- #14 – Alexandra Amini – Freshman – Pewaukee, Wis.
- #19 – Brooke Nygaard – Freshman – Eagan, Minn.
- #20 – Sophia Barjesteh – Junior – Woodbury, Minn.
- #27 – Annie Mulcahy – Freshman – Saint Paul, Minn.
- #29 – Izzy McEwan – Freshman – Minneapolis, Minn.
Getting to Work
The Tommie Women's Soccer coaching staff welcomed a new face into the fold during the offseason with the addition of Jean Viardin.
Viardin holds a US Soccer Senior A license and has over 20 years of coaching experience at youth clubs, high school teams, the WPSL, and the UPSL.
Coach McGill said of Viardin, "We are incredibly excited to welcome Jean to our team! He brings his experience and knowledge to the program and will make an immediate impact in our games and training. He has a positive yet straightforward mindset and will help our players to develop and succeed both individually and as a whole."
Viardin also served as the General Manager for the National Women's Soccer League's FC Kansas City from 2016-2018. His most recent experience came as the Executive Director & Director of Coaching/Player Development at Maplebrook SC, where he has been since 2011.
Follow Along
For any and all information pertaining to the St. Thomas Women's Soccer team, follow along on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter) at @TommieWSoccer.
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/ Women's SoccerWomen's Soccer
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