Huskers Return Home for Two Matches

Lincoln --

The Nebraska soccer team (3-2-1) returns home for the first time in three weeks to face Mississippi State (4-0-1) and Murray State (3-1-2) Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively, at the Abbott Sports Complex.

The Huskers are coming off a 2-1 win over Wisconsin and a 1-1 tie with Michigan last weekend at the Rocky Rococo Wisconsin Invitational. NU got scoring production from three different Huskers on the weekend, including Vern Fitzgerald, Iman Haynes and Ashley Carter.

In its 10-year history, Nebraska has never faced the Bulldogs or the Racers, and Mississippi State is NU's first Southeastern Conference foe since facing Florida on Sept. 8, 2002, in Gainesville, Fla. Nebraska is 7-1 alltime against SEC teams.

The matchups will be the final non-conference contests of the season before the Huskers enter Big 12 play next weekend against Iowa State and Missouri.

Mississippi State and Murray State will both face one opponent before taking on Nebraska. The Bulldogs travel to Samford on Tuesday for a mid-week contest, while the Racers face IPFW at home on Friday afternoon.

The Huskers have not lost more than two non-conference games in the regular season since 1995, and will try to preserve that streak this weekend.

The freshmen have been strong for the Huskers early in the season, contributing five of Nebraska's eight goals in 2003. They will be looked to once again against Mississippi State and Murray State to put up points and carry the Huskers into conference play on a winning streak.

On the Air

The Huskers' home games will be carried for the second year on KRNU 90.3 and can be found at Huskers.com. All games will be live on Huskers.com, while a few will also be carried on 90.3 FM, the campus student station.

A student team of Chris Liberto, Dave Hunt, and Tony Gorman will call the action throughout the season.

Nebraska's games against Murray State can be found on the dial as well as the internet.

Live stats will also be available to fans on Huskers.com for those wishing to follow the game statistically.

Nice to Meet You

Nebraska has not faced Mississippi State or Murray State in the regular season or the post-season in its 10-year history.

Iowa was the only other team on NU's 2003 schedule to have never faced the Huskers before this season.

Nebraska added a definite new twist to the schedule this season with three new non-conference opponents out of the eight it will face.

Scouting Mississippi State

Mississippi State comes into the week with a 4-0-1 record and on a roll after defeating Missouri, 1-0, Sept. 12, and posting a 1-0 win over Florida International on Sept. 14.

MSU also has wins over Memphis and South Alabama and took a 0-0 draw against Southwest Missouri State.

MIssissippi State is off to its fastest start in school history. In 1996, the Bulldogs posted thee victories and one tie in their first four contests.

The win over No. 25 Missouri was MSU's first over a nationally-ranked opponent and extended the Bulldogs' six-game unbeaten streak. It was also their first ever against a Big 12 opponent.

The Mississippi State defense has been the staple of its team thus far this season, with freshman goalkeeper Luisa Marzotto earning All-SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 8.

Ngum Suh and Heidi Ondra lead the Bulldogs with three goals each.

Mississippi State struggled in 2002, posting a 6-13-1 record and finishing sixth in the Southeastern Conference.

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.

Scouting Murray State

The Murray State Racers enter the week with a 3-1-2 record and will face Indiana Purdue-Fort Wayne at home Friday afternoon before traveling to Lincoln to face Nebraska.

Murray State opened the season with three consecutive wins over Southeast Missouri State, Western Illinois and IUPUI. They dropped one to Western Kentucky and last weekend tied both Arkansas-Little Rock (3-3) and Southeastern Louisiana (2-2).

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.

The Racers have battled injuries early in the season and have played several young players in the last few games.

MSU has outscored its opponents 14-10 on the season, and are led offensively by Jackie Thomas and Reedy, who both have eight points on the year.

The Racers have split action in the goal between Annie Fortier and Karen Fitzharris. Fortier is 1-0-1 with one shutout and a 1.10 goals-against average, while Fitzharris is 2-0-1, has one shutout and has a 1.24 GAA.

The Racers finished 8-7-2 in 2002 and fifth in the Ohio Valley Conference.

The Last Time Out

Nebraska bounced back from two consecutive losses to tie Michigan, 1-1, and defeat Wisconsin, 2-1, this past weekend.

Vern Fitzgerald notched the Huskers' only goal against Michigan when she played a ball from Jenna Cooper at the 52:01 mark to give the Huskers a 1-0 advantage.

Just 15 minutes later, however, Michigan evened the score on a goal by Stephanie Chavez off an assist by Therese Heaton.

The Huskers dominated the field with a 20-6 advantage in shots, but were only able to get one past the goalkeeper. Jenna Cooper, Lindsey Ingram and Jessie Bruch all posted four shots each for the game for NU.

Iman Haynes and Ashley Carter contributed their first goals of the season against Wisconsin to give the Huskers their first road win of the season. Haynes notched the first goal of the contest and the fifth of her career at the 26:22 mark off a long corner kick that Ingram saved and got to Nikki Baker who then crossed the ball back into Haynes for the score.

Carter got a penetrative pass from Abby Penas, dribbled around the UW goalkeeper and buried the game-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining on the clock.

Brooke Bredenberg played all 200 minutes in goal for the Huskers last week and posted nine saves and allowed two goals.

Up Next

After this weekend the Huskers will enter Big 12 Conference play leading up to the Big 12 Tournament and the NCAA postseason.

First on the conference slate for the Huskers are Iowa State and Missouri next weekend at the Abbott Sports Complex.

Iowa State is 2-2-1 on the season and competed with Nebraska at the Rocky Rococo Wisconsin Invitational this past weekend, falling to Michigan, 4-2, and tying Wisconsin, 1-1. The Cyclones opened the season with wins over Arizona and Weber State and will face Mississippi State Sunday after the Bulldogs make the trip to Lincoln on Friday.

Missouri has started the season off well with wins over Iowa, Northwestern, Purdue and Arizona. They ran into a road block last weekend, however, in Mississippi when they dropped games to Mississippi State (0-1) and Mississippi (1-2).

Cooper Named Defensive MVP

Jenna Cooper was honored as the Rocky Rococo Wisconsin Invitational Tournament Defensive MVP last weekend. Cooper was one of three Huskers named to the all-tournament team, joining Christy Harms and Lindsey Ingram.

Harms was also the only Husker to be named to the Nike Carolina Classic All-Tournament Team the previous weekend.

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

Freshmen Leading the Way

The Husker freshmen have been solid for NU in the first three weeks of the season. Five of the eight Nebraska goals have been notched by freshmen and Jessie Bruch leads the team in scoring after six games with four points on two goals.

It was the freshman once again who got the job done in Wisconsin this past weekend. Ashley Carter posted her first goal of the season at a crucial point in the game with just two minutes remaining in regulation against Wisconsin. Carter's game-winning goal came via a fantastic penetrative pass by fellow frosh Abby Penas.

Two of the Huskers' top five scorers early in the season have been freshmen, including Carter and Bruch.

Ashley Tenn has also been a solid offensive threat for NU, with a 1.000 shooting percentage. Tenn has posted six shots on the season and all six have been on goal.

Brittany Timko is perfect with one goal on one shot against Duke.

Baker to Face Familiar Foe

Sophomore Nikki Baker will take on former high school teammate Leslie Nickles who is a senior forward/midfielder from Bixby, Okla.

The two played together in Baker's freshmen and sophomore season in the high school season and combined as an offensive threat for the Hurricane Futball Club.

While Nickles played with Baker's sister Melissa for a longer period of time, Baker said that the Mississippi State Bulldog's greatest asset is her speed. As an outside midfielder, Baker said that Nickles is quick on and off the ball and is sure to be a scoring threat against the Huskers.

Back on the Pitch

The Huskers have been shorthanded early in the season due to a variety of injuries, but almost everyone has seen action in recent games (with the exception of Brittany Timko and Tanya Dennis who are out with the Canadian National Team).

2002 Big 12 All-Newcomer Team member, Pam Karakusis made it back onto the field for the first time this season last weekend against Wisconsin and Michigan.

Karakusis who has suffered from an inner ear problem early on played 74 minutes over the last two contests.

Katie Bunkers also played her largest role last weekend, contributing 83 minutes against Michigan and 82 minutes against Wisconsin.

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 26-4-3 against the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences. Nebraska is 4-2-2 vs. the ACC, 9-0-1 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 last week and remained out this week, but still is receiving votes.

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

North Carolina remained No. 1 for the third week in a row. Santa Clara dropped from No. 2 to No. 18 after losing to Virginia and tying Penn State last weekend.

Texas A&M is all the way up to No. 4, while Texas is at No. 9 and Colorado remained at No. 16.

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

Seven Huskers Open World Cup Play Saturday

Seven current or former Nebraska soccer players were named to the Canadian 20-player roster for the upcoming FIFA Women's World Cup which begins Saturday.

The list includes Isabelle Morneau, Sharolta Nonen, Karina LeBlanc, Christine Latham, Breanna Boyd, Brittany Timko and Tanya Dennis.

Morneau, Nonen and LeBlanc each saw action in the 1999 World Cup for the Canadian National Team. Morneau and Nonen were starters on the 1999 team, while LeBlanc played a key role as a reserve.

Former Huskers experiencing their first World Cup include Nebraska all-time scoring leader Latham and Boyd.

Current freshmen Timko and Dennis were also named to the 2003 Canada World Cup Team. Timko has 20 international caps for the World Cup team and helped the Canadian National Team qualify for the World Cup, playing in the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup. She has scored seven goals for the U-19 national team and helped lead it to a silver medal at the FIFA U-19 Women's World Championships.

Timko recorded her first collegiate goal against Duke in her first game in a Husker uniform. She and Dennis made their Nebraska debut against Duke and North Carolina.

Dennis made her World Cup debut Aug. 31, 2003, against Mexico. The Brampton, Ontario, native also played for the Canadian Pan American team this summer. She has been a consistent starter for the Canadian Under-19 National Team.

The 2003 World Cup begins Sept. 20, and will be held across the United States. Canada will play against Germany, Argentina and Japan as a member of Group C. The opener against Germany will be played in Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 20. Canada will face Argentina Sept. 24, in Columbus, and the final match against Japan will take place Sept. 27 in Foxboro, Mass.

The quarterfinals will take place Oct. 1-2, with the semifinals going on Oct. 5. The finals are scheduled for Oct. 12, at the Rose Bowl, in Pasadena, Calif.

Head Coach John Walker

In his 10th season at the helm of the Nebraska program, John Walker has accumulated staggering numbers, including a 162-37-8 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 in each of 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

Oklahoma State currently leads the conference with the only perfect record, going 6-0-0 through the first three weeks of action.

Kansas nor Colorado dropped a game last weekend, improving the Jayhawks to 6-1-0 and the No. Buffs to 4-1-0.

Texas and Texas A&M went 1-1-0 on the weekend, with both teams picking up 1-0 losses to North Carolina in games that went extra minutes. Texas defeated Louisiana State, 4-3, in overtime, while Texas A&M dropped South Carolina, 2-1, in an OT match as well.

This weekend, Colorado hosts the Colorado Women's Soccer Classic and will face Seton Hall and San Jose State.

Kansas defeated Florida State and Central Florida last week and travel to San Diego and Loyola Marymount this week.

Missouri is 4-2-0 on the season after dropping games last weekend to Mississippi State and Mississippi and will face an even larger challenge this week when the Tigers travel to Florida to take on the Gators.

Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will compete in a state-wide quadrangular, with each team facing Oral Roberts and Tulsa this weekend.

The Longhorns are set to take on Portland and Washington in Seattle, Wash., while Texas A&M faces Oregon and Colorado College in Dallas.