Huskers Stop Santa Clara, 3-1

Lincoln -- The Nebraska women's soccer team scored all three of its goals in the second half to come from behind to defeat perennial national power Santa Clara, 3-1, in a spring exhibition game in front of 1,019 fans at the Abbott Sports Complex on Saturday, April 17.

The Huskers, who concluded the spring season with a 2-1-1 record, scored the winning goal on Jenny Benson's penalty kick at the 75:19 mark. Benson connected with her left foot into the top right-hand corner of the net beyond the reach of Santa Clara goalkeeper Crystal Gordon. Kelly Rheem earned the penalty kick for the Huskers after being taken down inside the penalty area.

Nebraska Coach John Walker said the Huskers' performance was a tale of two halves.

"I thought we really had a good half in the second half," Walker said. "I think our players were a little disappointed with how they played in the first half, but in the second half, they came out and played to their potential. We also made an adjustment by playing with four strikers up front in the second half to apply more pressure, but that move didn't win the game. The players came out and won the game."

Becky Preston scored the first goal for the Huskers at the 64:31 mark off assists from Meghan Anderson and Shannon Tanaka on Anderson's free kick. Preston's goal knotted the game at 1-1, after Santa Clara's Jacqui Little opened the scoring with an unassisted goal on a breakaway at 19:52.

Tanaka gave the Huskers an insurance goal at 86:25 off an assist from Lindsay Eddleman to close the scoring. All three of Nebraska's second-half goals came against Santa Clara's Crystal Gordon, who led the nation with a 0.16 goals-against average in 1998. In fact, Gordon allowed a total of just three goals in 22 games last season.

Although Walker was pleased with Nebraska's performance, he was quick to praise Santa Clara.

"They were unbelievable in the first half. What a great display of passing and technical ability," Walker said. "We played a good second half and won a great battle, but Santa Clara is definitely a great team. I don't really look forward to playing them at all in the fall."

The Huskers outshot the Broncos, 15-12, and attempted three corner kicks, while allowing Santa Clara just one attempt from the corner.

Nebraska opens the 1999 fall season on Aug. 27, when the Huskers play host to Texas Tech at the Abbott Sports Complex. The Huskers are scheduled to play Santa Clara in Palo Alto, Calif., on Sept. 19.

Scoring Summary
Santa Clara--Jacqui Little, 19:52 (unassisted)
Nebraska--Becky Preston (free kick), 64:31 (Meghan Anderson, Shannon Tanaka)
Nebraska--Jenny Benson (penalty kick), 75:19
Nebraska--Shannon Tanaka, 86:25 (Lindsay Eddleman)

Shots: Nebraska 15, Santa Clara 12
Shots on Goal: Nebraska 5, Santa Clara 5
Goalkeeper Saves: Nebraska 4 (LeBlanc 4); Santa Clara 2 (Gordon 2)
Corner Kicks: Nebraska 3, Santa Clara 1
Fouls: Nebraska 7, Santa Clara 8
Yellow Cards: Nebraska (Shannon Tanaka, 35:35); Santa Clara (Whitney Hollis, 43:53) (Kerry Cathcart, 64:48)
Attendance: 1,019