No. 19 Georgia Faces Minnesota on Sunday

Sunday, August 16

Minneapolis, Minn.

1 p.m.

University of Georgia

Minnesota

August 15, 2026 | Soccer

Match Notes

#19/25 Georgia (0-0-1, 0-0-0 SEC) at Minnesota (1-0-0, 0-0-0 Big Ten)
Date: Sunday, Aug. 16
Time: 1 p.m. EDT
Location: St. Paul, Minn.
Site: Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium (1,000)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Streaming: B1G+ [$] (Blythe Whealy, PxP)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
X: @UGASoccer
Instagram: @UGASoccer

Social Media: For complete information on Georgia soccer, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGASoccer on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

INSIDE THE SERIES
Overall: Georgia leads 2-0-1
In Athens: Georgia leads 1-0-1
In Minneapolis / St. Paul: Georgia leads 1-0-0
Last Meeting: T, 0-0 (Aug. 31, 2023 – Athens, Ga.)
Current Streak: T1
GF / GA: 4 / 1

QUICK KICKS
Game On, Gophers
No. 19 Georgia concludes its season-opening Big Ten road trip with a Sunday matinee against Minnesota. The Bulldogs and Golden Gophers have faced off three prior times, with Georgia holding a 2-0-1 record in the series. The Bulldogs pulled out a 2-1 overtime win in their previous trip to the Twin Cities on Sept. 2, 2011. In the most recent meeting, the teams played to a scoreless draw on Aug. 31, 2023 in Athens. Following Thursday's 0-0 tie at Illinois, Georgia holds an 8-5-3 record against Big Ten competition. Minnesota marks the fifth different Big Ten team Georgia has faced in the previous two seasons (UCLA, Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois).

Drawing Up a Tie
Georgia opened its 32nd season with a scoreless tie at Illinois, marking the second 0-0 draw in a season opener in three seasons, including the same result against Pitt in 2024. The Bulldogs and Fighting Illini combined for seven shots on goal in the match, with six coming in the opening 36 minutes of play. The Bulldogs were more aggressive in the second half, outshooting the Illini by a 6-3 margin and earning a couple of solid looks which did not go in the net. Dating back to last season, Georgia has been shut out in three straight matches for the first time in the Keidane McAlpine era.

Soccer in Sanford
After its season-opening trip to the Midwest, Georgia returns home for a historic evening in Athens. The Bulldogs will face James Madison in the "Soccer in Sanford" match on Thursday, Aug. 20 at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium. The match will simultaneously honor the 30th anniversary of the United States women's national team's gold medal victory over China in the 1996 Summer Olympics at Sanford, along with looking to set a new NCAA attendance record. The women's record of 14,410 was set in the 1999 NCAA Championship in San Jose between North Carolina and Notre Dame, while the overall mark of 22,512 was set in 1980 during a Saint Louis-SIUE match at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Racking Up Honors
Georgia collected a bevy of preseason honors entering the 2026 season. The Bulldogs were ranked 19th in the United Soccer Coaches poll and 25th in TopDrawerSoccer's rankings, earning a preseason ranking for the sixth time in program history (1998, '99, '08, '09, '24, '26). Senior midfielder Honoka Hamano was named to United Soccer Coaches' Midfielders to Watch List, following an All-Big 12 season last year at UCF. Fifth year defender Assa Kante was ranked 43rd nationally in TDS' Top 100 Players List, while freshman Lilly Osifodunrin earned a spot on the TDS Preseason Freshman Best XI. Additionally, graduate goalkeeper Jordan Brown, senior midfielder Kiera Staude, sophomore forward Mya Townes and Folliard were named to the SEC Preseason Watch List.

New Faces in New Places
Adding to 16 returning letterwinners, Georgia welcomes 12 new players to the 2026 roster, including four veteran transfers. Honoka Hamano earned Second Team All-Big 12 and Third Team All-Region honors last season at UCF, while senior midfielder Gabbi Ceballos was an SEC All-Tournament Team member at LSU last season as she helped the Tigers reach the NCAA Round of 16. Graduate forward Emma Pettersen picked up First Team All-CUSA honors last season at Middle Tennessee with nine goals and five assists. The Bulldog freshmen are led by defender Lilly Osifodunrin, who was ranked 23rd nationally by TopDrawerSoccer, while fellow defender Leila Avila joined Bulldog teammate Ava Stack to help lead Mexico to a bronze medal at the 2025 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup. Fellow Californian Maya Woolforde was TDS' No. 25 national recruit, while midfielder London Crawford (Colombia) and forward Mary Hartofilis (Ireland) bring international experience to the table. In addition to the newcomers, sophomores Mona Childs, Grayson Rogers, and Victoria Saah will also look to make their Georgia debuts early in the season after not seeing the field in their 2025 freshman campaigns. Childs and Rogers both suffered season-ending injuries prior to the fall, but will look to immediately contribute.

A Veteran Group
Despite the loaded class of newcomers, Georgia returns 64.5 percent of its minutes from the 2025 team which finished third in SEC play. Senior midfielder Kiera Staude, a 2025 Second Team All-SEC performer, is the Bulldogs' top returning attacker after a career-high six goals last season. Sophomore forward Lily Kate Elphick posted four goals in her first season, while fellow sophomore attacker Mya Townes provided three, including a winner against top-10 Arkansas. The Bulldogs' backline is buoyed by the returns of fifth year Assa Kante, senior Devon Winters, and sophomore Maddy Herniter, who combined for 58 starts last season. The Bulldogs also feature tremendous depth in goal with graduate Jordan Brown and sophomore Hannah Folliard returning this season. Folliard was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team last year after posting 46 saves and five solo shutouts. Brown missed the 2025 season due to injury but has amassed 233 saves in 52 appearances, ranking fourth in program history with a 0.99 GAA.

Challenging Slate
Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine has again crafted a challenging schedule for his team, including five ranked matchups. For the fifth-consecutive season, the Bulldogs will take on the defending NCAA champion as they face Florida State on Sept. 3 in Athens. A week prior, Georgia will travel to face 2025 College Cup semifinalist TCU in Fort Worth. The Bulldogs will also take on SEC preseason favorites Vanderbilt, Arkansas, and LSU. Georgia is one of five Power Four programs to face a team from each of the four P4 conferences, joining Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, and Ohio State.

Raising the Bar
Under Keidane McAlpine, Georgia has continued to raise the program's profile and achieve new heights of success, highlighted by the 2023 SEC Tournament championship and NCAA Round of 16 appearance. The Bulldogs have both advanced in the SEC Tournament and hosted NCAA First Round matches in four straight years for the first time. The Bulldogs have also finished unbeaten on the road in SEC play in both 2022 and 2024. McAlpine's program currently has four players in the NWSL (Croix Bethune, Mallie McKenzie, Cate Hardin, Madison Haugen), the most top flight pro players at any point in program history. Three Bulldogs (Amber Nguyen, Nicole Vernis, Hannah White) also helped Lexington Sporting Club sweep the USL Super League regular season and postseason titles.

The Bulldogs' increased success has expanded the recruiting footprint of the program, resulting in a roster full of geographic diversity in 2026. This season's team features players from 10 different states and four nations. The Dawgs still feature 12 players from Georgia, one of the country's deepest talent pools.

Up Next
Georgia returns home to host James Madison in the Soccer in Sanford match at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium on Aug. 20. The match will kick off at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.