Huskers Open NCAA Tournament with 3-0 Victory

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lawrence, Kan. ? Junior forward Nikki Baker tied the Nebraska NCAA Tournament record and set a career high by scoring three goals in the Huskers’ 3-0 win over Oral Roberts in the first round of the tournament in Lawrence, Kan.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

With the win, NU advances to the second round where it will face Kansas, the No. 8 national seed on Sunday at 1 p.m. KU defeated Creighton, 3-1, Friday afternoon.

 

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Huskers and improved their overall record to 13-8, marking the ninth straight season that Nebraska has posted at least 13 victories. The win was also NU’s ninth consecutive victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

"I'm very happy with our performance," NU Head Coach John Walker said. "I thought Oral Roberts did a good job in the first half. In the second half, I thought we were able to physically impose ourselves a little bit and wear them down. Our individual defending was excellent all the way across the field and we were able to physically take control of the game."

 

Baker put Nebraska up 1-0 in the minute with her 11th goal of the season and her first goal in five games. An Oral Roberts defender failed to clear a ball and Baker beat another defender to a loose ball on the far side of the box and sent a hard shot past Golden Eagle goalkeeper Mandy Evans for the Huskers’ first goal in their last three games.

 

Baker struck again in the 15th minute off an assist from senior Brooke Bredenberg. Bredenberg sent a perfect through ball past two defenders to Baker, who scored from nearly the identical spot from her first goal.

 

Bredenberg’s assist was her second of the season, tying her single-season career high. The assist also gave her 10 points for the season, marking the first time in her four-year career she has reached double figures in points.

 

Baker completed her hat trick by converting a penalty kick at 65:51. Nearly one minute after senior Lindsey Ingram sent a shot off the crossbar, Nebraska pressured again and Baker got behind the Nebraska defense and was pulled down from behind in the box by an Oral Roberts defender. She earned a penalty kick and converted by sending a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.

 

A native of Bixby, Okla., Baker now has 13 goal on the season, four more than her previous high total for a season. It was her fourth multi-goal game of 2004 and upped her season point total to 28, second-most on the team and eight points more than her previous career high.

 

In goal, sophomore Katie Wright made four saves in recording her seventh shutout of the season. The shutout was Nebraska’s first in the NCAA Tournament since a 1-0 victory over Yale on Nov. 17, 2002. The three-goal margin of victory was also NU’s largest margin of victory in the NCAA Tournament since the Huskers defeated Brigham Young, 3-0, in the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

 

For the game, Nebraska outshot Oral Roberts, 22-9, and placed nine shots on goal. ORU (14-6-1) managed only four shots on goal.

 

When Nebraska faces Kansas on Sunday, it will be looking to advance to the Sweet 16 for the eighth time in nine years. In the only meeting between the teams this season, the Huskers handed the Jayhawks their only home loss off the season, 1-0, on Sept. 24.