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UNC isn’t the trophy-every-year powerhouse it once was – the 21-time champions haven’t won the national title since 2012, and legendary coach Anson Dorrance retired just before the the season – but it’s still a big deal to have any Minnesotans playing in Chapel Hill.
5. The Gophers and Khyah Harper are making noise in the Big Ten. Minnesota beat No. 8 Ohio State on Thursday night, 3-2 on the road, the Gophers’ first win against a top-ten team in nine years – and Harper scored twice, giving her a nation-leading 15 goals this season.
Gophers forward Khyah Harper, from Centennial High School, reached the 15-goal mark. (Aaron Lavinsky/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
6. Among Big Ten teams, it’s not just the Gophers that have Minnesotan standouts. Kaitlyn MacBean, the former Ms. Soccer from Breck, leads No. 20 Penn State with 12 goals. Berit Parten, a freshman from Minnehaha Academy, is Iowa’s leading scorer, and the Hawkeyes had a share of the Big Ten conference lead before a loss Thursday.
Through Thursday night’s games, there are 14 players in the country who have scored ten or more goals this season. Three – Harper, Engle, and MacBean – are Minnesotans.
7. On the men’s side, a Minnesota youth academy is receiving accolades. MLS NEXT, the development league that includes all of the academy teams from MLS, named Shattuck-St. Mary’s as its U-19 Team of the Month for September. SSM won three games in the month, including wins against the academy teams of both MNUFC and the Chicago Fire.
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