Huskers Set for Wisconsin Invitational

The Husker soccer team will try to regroup and recover from two losses to top 10 national teams when it travels to <?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Madison, Wis., this weekend to face Michigan and Wisconsin. Nebraska faces Michigan at 5 p.m. Friday  and takes on the Wisconsin Badgers at 1 p.m. Sunday in the Rocky Rococo Wisconsin Soccer Invitational.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

NU will try to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to No. 10 Duke and a 6-0 loss to No. 1 North Carolina last weekend.

 

Nebraska is now 2-2-0 on the season after wins in the opening weekend over DePaul and Iowa.

 

The Huskers are 1-1-0 all-time against Michigan and are a perfect 2-0-0 against Wisconsin.

 

Michigan has been tripped up in the early 2003 season, falling to 0-3-1 with losses to Southern California, Oakland and Utah and a tie against Brigham Young.

 

Wisconsin opened the season with a loss at California, but has bounced back to defeat St. Mary's, Northern Illinois and Kansas. The Badgers will also face in-state rival Marquette Tuesday night, before opening the Wisconsin Invitational.

 

After traveling to Wisconsin, the Huskers will only have one more week of non-conference action before opening Big 12 play at home Sept. 26-28.

 

Nebraska needs to play well to take both games this weekend, in order to add much needed experience and provide the younger players with more confidence.

 

 

The Last Time We Met

Of the two teams the Huskers will face this weekend, they have most recently taken on Wisconsin.

 

The Badgers traveled to Lincoln last season for the adidas Invite and the Huskers are making the return trip this season. Nebraska narrowly defeated UW, 1-0, last season on a goal by Christine Latham. The Badgers left the Cornhusker state with a bad taste in their mouths after a shot they believed went over the goal line was scooped up and not counted. Nebraska outshot Wisconsin, 11-4, for the contest and put three shots on frame to UW's two. The only other time the two teams have met, Nebraska defeated the Badgers 2-0 in the Huskers' inaugural season (1994).

 

Nebraska is 1-1-0 against Michigan.  The last time the two teams met in 1997, the Huskers defeated the Wolverines, 5-1, in Lincoln. UM won the first meeting 0-2 in 1994.

 

Scouting Michigan

After a highly successful 2002 campaign that ended in the NCAA Elite Eight, Michigan has struggled out of the chute in 2003 with three consecutive losses in its first four games.

 

Most recently, Michigan fell to No. 15 Southern California, 2-1, at home. The Wolverines did not get on the scoreboard until Erika Kleinholz netted a penalty kick with 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

 

Michigan opened the season with a 0-0 tie against Brigham Young, after falling to North Carolina (4-1) in a preseason exhibition contest.  The Wolverines have also dropped games to Utah (4-1) and Oakland (1-0).

 

In 2002, Michigan finished the season with a 16-7-1 overall record and a second-place Big Ten finish.  The Wolverines made a stellar run in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Oakland (1-0), Miami (Ohio) (4-0), Pepperdine (2-0), and finally falling to Santa Clara (3-1).

 

Scouting Wisconsin

Wisconsin will be Nebraska's third opponent in as many games to see NCAA postseason action in 2002.

 

The Badgers improved their 2003 record to 3-1-0 with wins over Kansas and Northern Illinois last weekend.

 

Wisconsin defeated Kansas, 3-2, in the Badgers' home opener Sunday afternoon. UW's Jenny Kundert provided the game-winning goal in the 65th minute. Molly Meuer and Rachel Hanson also notched goals in the win.

 

The Badgers will play three games in five days, concluding Tuesday with their match against Marquette.

 

Wisconsin has posted wins over St. Mary's (3-1), Northern Illinois (3-1), and Kansas (3-2), and dropped one game to California (2-1) to open the season.

 

In 2002, Wisconsin defeated Marquette, 3-2, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling in the second round, 2-1, to Pepperdine.

 

The Badgers return eight starters and 18 letterwinners from the 2002 squad.

 

The Last Time Out

After a solid opening weekend, Nebraska struggled against No. 10 Duke and No. 1 North Carolina in week two.

 

The Huskers fell to Duke, 3-1, in the opening game of the Nike Carolina Classic. NU got off to a sluggish start and never recovered after Duke began its run.

 

Freshman Brittany Timko scored her first collegiate goal in her Nebraska debut, but it was not enough as the Huskers had already given up three goals.

 

Timko's goal came at the 37:38 mark on a header off a long serve from Jenna Cooper.

 

Nebraska continued to battle through the North Carolina game, but was unable to post a score. The Huskers only took two shots for the contest, compared to Carolina's 28. Junior goalkeeper Brooke Bredenberg allowed all three goals against Duke, while freshman Katie Wright allowed six against UNC in her first collegiate start.

 

Up Next

Nebraska will wrap up the non-conference season next weekend when it returns home to host Mississippi State and Murray State.

 

It will be the first meeting for both teams.  Mississippi State struggled in 2002, posting a 6-13-1 record and finishing sixth in the Southeastern Conference. The Bulldogs have gotten off to a better start in 2003, with a 3-0-1 overall record.

 

MSU returns nine starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2002 season. State's starting goalkeeper, Courtney Hubert, tragically died in an automobile accident on May 13, 2003.

 

Murray State is 3-1-0 in 2003. The Racers finished 8-7-2 in 2002 and fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.

 

MSU returns all 11 starters from the 2002 season and 18 letterwinners, including forward Theresa Ready who led the Racers with 20 points as a sophomore.

 

Harms Named to All-Tourney Team

Senior defender Christy Harms was the only Husker to be named to the Nike Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team last weekend.

 

Harms led the defense in both games against Duke and North Carolina. The honor makes the second time Harms has been recognized for her defensive prowess, as she was also named the 2002 Big 12 Tournament Defensive MVP.

 

North Carolina's Lori Chalupny was named the Nike Carolina Classic MVP.

 

Timko Knocks in Goal in First Game as a Husker

Freshmen Brittany Timko and Tanya Dennis made their first appearance in a Nebraska uniform this weekend against Duke and North Carolina.

 

The pair have been training with the Canadian National Team for the upcoming World Cup. Timko recorded her first goal as a Husker against Duke on a header in the 38th minute.The national team midfielder logged 66 minutes in the two contests, while Dennis saw 74 minutes of action for the Huskers. Both Timko and Dennis started for Canada in a 6-0 route of  Mexico the night before Nebraska played Duke.

 

The World Cup will begin on Sept. 20, when Canada faces Germany in Columbus, Ohio.

 

Wright Gets First Start in Net

Freshman Katie Wright was thrown into the fire Sunday afternoon when she got her first collegiate start as the Nebraska goalkeeper against the No. 1 team in the country.

 

Wright registered minutes against Iowa and Duke, but didn't make her first official start until facing North Carolina.

 

The Mission Viejo, Calif., native played a solid 30 minutes against Duke, posting four saves and turning away strong scoring opportunities by the Blue Devils.

 

Unfortunately, North Carolina was not so kind, knocking in six shots against the freshman.

 

Wright did turn away 10 shots on goal by the Tar Heels in her 90 minutes.

 

Cooper Adds Another Assist

Jenna Cooper made a hobby out of contributing assists in 2002 and has continued the trend early in 2003.

 

Cooper was credited with 10 assists last season and has added three in four games in 2003.  The junior placed perfect passes for her Husker teammates in two of the three goals against Iowa.  She also sent in a long serve to freshman Brittany Timko for a goal against Duke last Friday.

 

The Louisville, Ky., native finished the season tied for fourth in the conference with 10 assists.  Cooper is tied with four other Big 12 players who have notched three assists on the season.

 

Krumland Posting Shots

Freshman Kari Krumland posted two of the Huskers' eight shots on the weekend, and both were on goal.

 

The freshman from Columbus, Neb., is sixth among all Huskers in shots with four in just 59 minutes of action. Three of her four shots have been on goal.

 

The Numbers

Nebraska is one of only four teams (and the only Big 12 team) to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past seven seasons.

 

Since the Big 12 was formed in 1996, the Huskers have claimed five of the seven conference tournament championships, winning in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2002.  Nebraska also won regular-season titles in 1996, 1999 and 2000.

 

In seven seasons of Big 12 action, the Huskers have produced an overall conference record of 59-8-2, for a league-best winning percentage of .870.

 

Through the past six seasons, the Huskers have a combined record of 25-4-2 against the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences.  Nebraska is 4-2-2 vs. the ACC, 8-0 vs. the Big Ten, 7-1 vs. the SEC, and 6-1 against the Pac-10.

 

The Polls

Nebraska dropped out of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas national rankings released Sept. 8.  The Huskers opened the 2003 season with a No. 12 ranking and fell to No. 14 last week.

 

The Huskers dropped out of the polls after losing games to North Carolina and Duke this week.

 

North Carolina remained No. 1 for the second week in a row. Santa Clara moved up one spot from No. 3 to No. 2.

 

Six teams entered the rankings for the first time this season, including Big 12 foes Colorado (16) and Missouri (25).

 

Texas moved back up in the rankings from 21st to No. 11 this week. Texas A&M also climbed a spot from No. 6 to No. 5.

 

NU finished in the final NSCAA Top 15 for the last seven seasons.

 

Head Coach John Walker

In his 10th season at the helm of the Nebraska program, John Walker has accumulated staggering numbers, including a 161-37-7 record and an .802 winning percentage that ranks second among all Division I active coaches.

 

Walker led the Huskers to the NCAA postseason in 1996 and has finished in the top 15 nationally for the last seven seasons.

 

He has taken NU to the NCAA Sweet 16 the last seven seasons, including two trips to the Elite Eight.

 

The Kingston, Ontario, native posted his best season in scarlet and cream in 1999, when the Huskers finished with a 22-1-2 final record. Under Walker, NU has won three Big 12 regular-season titles and five of the seven Big 12 Tournament championships.

 

Around the Big 12 Conference

Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M remain undefeated after two weeks of soccer action.

 

Baylor, Kansas, Texas, Iowa State and Colorado all have one loss each.

 

Over the weekend, Texas rebounded from a 3-2 loss to Duke the previous week to post wins over Clemson (1-0) and Furman (4-0).

 

Texas A&M defeated Utah, 1-0, in its only contest of the weekend.

 

Missouri notched wins over Purdue and Arizona, while Iowa State dropped a game to DePaul (2-0).

 

Iowa State will join Nebraska in the Rocky Rococo Wisconsin Soccer Invitational this weekend, playing Michigan and Wisconsin on opposite days of the Huskers.

 

Missouri will make a trip to Mississippi to face Mississippi State and Mississippi this weekend.

 

The Texas Longhorns will take a shot at the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday and will face Louisiana State on Sunday.

 

Texas A&M will face South Carolina Friday and North Carolina on Sunday afternoon.