An Intense Opening Night

The intensity of conference play was evident in Thursday night’s openers with six of the nine games ending in one-goal margins and two decided in the final minutes. Let’s take a look at some of the notable results from last night. 

Gophers knock off No. 25 Iowa 

Conference play couldn’t have started any better for Minnesota. Tenley Senden’s  goal in the 41^st minute  propelled the Gophers to a 1-0 victory over No. 25 Iowa, giving Minnesota its first win over a top 25 opponent in nearly two years. The Hawkeyes did their best to get the equalizer, outshooting the Gophers 14-3 and earning eight corner kicks in the second half. Though, goalkeeper Sarah Martin and the Minnesota defense were equal to the task as the Gophers improved to 5-1-1 overall on the season.  The Minnesota recap .  

Both teams are back in action on Sunday and playing on Big Ten Network. Minnesota visits Penn State at 12 p.m. ET and the Hawkeyes host Nebraska at 2 p.m. ET. 

The Spartans offense is rolling 

Taking on a USC team that just tied top-ranked Stanford on the road last week, No. 5 Michigan State went to L.A. and put up a season-high five goals on the Trojans. 2025 Big Ten Forward of the Year Kennedy Bell scored twice in the span of 2:14 in the first half to break the match open, and running mate Kayla Briggs posted a four-point night with the opening goal and two assists.  

The Spartans have now scored 10 goals in the last three games after scoring just six in their first four contests. Combine that with the fact that Thursday night’s blank sheet was Michigan State’s fourth shutout already in seven matches this season, and the Spartans are downright scary to face.  More from Michigan State .  

Another big one for the Spartans on Sunday – they'll stay in L.A. to face No. 16 UCLA, who opened conference play with a 2-1 win over Purdue. Those Boilermakers will tussle with USC on Sunday, too. Catch them both on B1G+. 

Illini tie with No. 14 Badgers 

Thanks to fifth year Izzy Lee’s Big Ten-leading fifth shutout of the season, Illinois battled to a 0-0 draw with No. 14 Wisconsin on Thursday night. Both teams earned a point to open conference play in an even game that saw both teams with five shots and six penalty corners, though the Badgers held a 4-2 edge in shots on goal. Lee has now allowed just two goals in seven matches this season, leading the Big Ten with a .929 save percentage (12^th in the country).  Read more .  

The Illini and Badgers both play again Sunday, hosting Michigan and Northwestern respectively, on B1G+.  

Late heroics lift Hoosiers and Wildcats 

Two 1-0 final scores were settled in the closing minutes of action on Thursday night. 

• With less than two minutes to play in Lincoln, Indiana midfielder Maggie Ledwith took the feed from Grace Hamm and  buried the game’s only goal  to beat Nebraska.  
• Alex Fallon gave Northwestern the game-winner against Michigan in the 85^th minute with a  missile from just outside the penalty arc .  

Every team will be back in action on Sunday –  check out the slate .  

Photo by Brady Paitrick via gophersports.com .