Analysis: Minnesota natives taking soccer by storm, especially at college level

MINNESOTA SOCCER | ANALYSIS

Sure, Minnesota United is headed to the MLS playoffs, but there’s more to Minnesota soccer than just the denizens of Allianz Field. Let’s go around the state and round up ten non-Loons things to know about Minnesotans in the soccer world:

1. Edina’s Maddie Dahlien was the 2022 Minnesota Star Tribune Female Athlete of the Year, and she’s taken her game worldwide. Dahlien was a key player for the United States’ under-20 team, which finished in third place at the U-20 World Cup.

Dahlien came off the bench in all seven matches the U.S. played, scored twice in the group stage, and created two pivotal moments for the Americans in the knockout rounds. In the quarterfinals, it was Dahlien’s cross that set up the USA’s stunning equalizer against Germany, in the ninth minute of stoppage time — the Americans’ second goal in two minutes, erasing a late 2-0 deficit.

Then in the third-place game, Dahlien’s attempted cross in the final minute of extra time hit a defender and glanced into the net, giving the U.S. a 2-1 victory against the Netherlands.

2. Minnesota is taking over women’s college soccer.

OK, that’s not entirely true, but it is true that there are a lot of high-profile Minnesotans out there. “This might be the most Minnesotans at the top of college soccer in a while, maybe ever,” said Matt Privratsky, the founder of EqualTimeSoccer.com, which covers women’s soccer in Minnesota. The site is currently tracking 122 Minnesotans who are playing Division I women’s college soccer across the country, and it remains the go-to source for the women’s game in the Upper Midwest.

3. Dahlien is one of two Minnesotans who have reached one of the highest levels in the NCAA — namely, just making the roster at North Carolina. Goalkeeper Clare Gagne, from Orono, is also starting in goal for the second-ranked Tar Heels this season as a grad transfer, after four years at Brown.

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.

4. The Tar Heels are leading the ACC standings, but a couple of other Minnesotans are also standouts in what might be the nation’s best conference. Izzy Engle, also from Edina, has double-digit goals as a freshman at Notre Dame. Payton Cahill, from Hill-Murray, is splitting time at keeper for No. 3 Wake Forest.

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 victory against a top-ten team in nine years — and Harper scored twice, giving her a nation-leading 15 goals this season.

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 victories against the academy teams of both MNUFC and the Chicago Fire.

8. There aren’t all that many Minnesotans in MLS, but the ones who are there are firmly established. Teal Bunbury, an SSM alum, is up to 395 MLS games played, the third most for a forward in league history. Now with Nashville, the 34-year-old Bunbury also became just the sixth player in MLS history to record a goal or an assist in 15 consecutive seasons.

9. Woodbury’s Eric Miller, now a defender for Portland, just hit the 200-game mark, as did San Jose midfielder Jackson Yueill, a Bloomington native, who is still just 27 years old. It’s a testament to the impressive careers both have carved out in the top American division.

10. And finally, Minnesota Aurora’s new ownership drive is going well, with nearly a half-million dollars raised so far. The team has set a goal of 10,000 community owners, but with some original owners also contributing to the second fundraising round, it won’t be clear until after the drive how many unique owners the team has.

The drive doesn’t have a set end date, but it sounds like it will be open at least through the holidays.