The Gophers soccer team will take on second-seeded UCLA on Friday in Los Angeles in the second round of the NCAA tournament, and it will have a goal of allowing no goals. Make than an expectation: The Gophers haven't allowed a goal in their past four games.
It's only the Gophers' second such run in the past 10 years. Led by sophomore goaltender Maddie Nielsen, they swept through Rutgers, Nebraska and Penn State in the Big Ten tournament, then stopped Auburn in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
In UCLA (15-3-1), the Gophers (12-8-2) take on a winner of 10 games in a row in which the Bruins outscored opponents 34-6. Forward Ashley Sanchez has recorded a goal or assist in each of those 10 games, totaling eight goals and seven assists during the streak.
The winner Friday will take on the winner of a second-round game between North Carolina State and Santa Clara on Sunday.
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• The St. Thomas men's soccer team (16-3-2) will play Luther (Decorah, Iowa) at 3:30 p.m. Friday in the round of 16 in the NCAA Division III tournament in Chicago. The Tommies, 9-0-1 in their past 10 matches, lost 1-0 at North Park in the national quarterfinals a year ago. St. Thomas has six consecutive shutouts and a scoreless streak of 622-plus minutes.
• Four Gophers football players were named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District first team as selected by members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The honor recognizes the players for their combined performances on the field and in the classroom. The first-teamers are senior kicker Emmit Carpenter, senior long snapper Payton Jordahl and senior defensive linemen Sam Renner and Gary Moore are first-time honorees.
• Canterbury Park submitted a request to the Minnesota Racing Commission for a 66-day schedule in 2019 that would begin May 3, the day before the Kentucky Derby, and conclude Sept. 14. That's down from 69 days in 2018.
• Concordia (St. Paul) outlasted SW Minnesota State 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 16-14 in the first round of an NCAA Division II volleyball regional in Kearney, Neb. The Golden Bears (23-8) will play eighth-seeded Harding, which beat host Nebraska-Kearney 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 15-25, 15-9, in the regional semifinals.
Kate Berg had 12 kills to lead Minnesota Duluth to a 25-15, 25-22, 26-24 victory over Central Missouri. The Bulldogs (28-5) will next play Washburn, which defeated Northern State 25-9, 23-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12.
