Huskers Win Big 12 Opener at Colorado

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Boulder, Colo. ? Sophomore Jessie Bruch scored two second-half goals off set plays, including the game winner in the 82nd minute, to help the Nebraska soccer team erase a 1-0 halftime deficit and earn a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Colorado on Friday in the Big 12 Conference opener for both teams at the Pleasant View Complex. <?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

With the victory, Nebraska (6-3-0, 1-0-0 Big 12) snapped a two-game losing streak to Colorado (3-4-2, 0-1-0) and won for the first time in three road games this season. The victory also improved the Huskers’ record to a perfect 10-0-0 in league openers since the Big 12 was formed in 1996.

 

NU Head Coach John Walker was pleased with his team’s effort, as the Huskers posted back-to-back wins for the first time since the season’s opening weekend.

 

“It was a fantastic effort,” Walker said. “It was a very difficult game. They have an excellent team and it was a tough environment with the crowd and the altitude. It was a tough come-from-behind win.”

 

The Huskers needed to come from behind after Colorado took an early 1-0 lead when Fran Munnelly found herself one-one-one with NU freshman goalkeeper Jamie Klages after a pass from Kathryn Grandinetti. Munnelly was able to beat Klages low and find the back of the net at 36:04 to give the Buffaloes the lead.

 

Nebraska, which had been 0-2 when trailing at the half, relied on the combination of Bruch and junior Brittany Timko to get back into the game.

 

Bruch’s first goal came just 4:29 into the second period. The Huskers won a corner kick and Timko found Bruch in the box, where the St. Louis native beat CU goalkeeper Jessica Keller with a header for the equalizer.

 

Timko and Bruch teamed up again at 81:50 to give the Huskers the victory. Nebraska earned a foul and Timko again found Bruch, who headed the ball into the back of the net to lift NU to the 2-1 win.

 

Bruch, who led the Huskers with 19 points as a freshman in 2003 before missing all of 2004 while recovering from an injury, notched her first points of the season in the win. Her mutli-goal game was also the first of her career and the second by a Husker this year.

 

For the game, NU was outshot 15-11, but enjoyed more quality chances, placing nine shots on goal to only seven from the Buffaloes. Each team won three corner kicks.

 

Timko notched the game-winning assist for the fifth time this season in the win. Her five game-winning assists in 2005 are just one shy of her school record, which she set last season. Timko’s 11 career game-winning assists rank second on the NU career chart and are just two shy of Meghan Anderson’s career record of 13. Timko has produced either a game-winning assist or the game-winning goal in every Nebraska victory this year.

 

Her two assists also marked the sixth multi-assist game of her career, moving her from fifth place into a tie for third on the NU career chart.

 

In net, Klages improved to 3-2-0 on the season and picked up a victory in her Big 12 debut. She recorded a career-high six saves, doubling her previous career high of three. Klages still has not allowed more than one goal in any of her five career starts.

 

For the Buffaloes, Keller made seven saves, while allowing two goals.

 

Nebraska was scheduled to travel to Lubbock, Texas, on Sunday for a match with the Texas Tech Lady Raiders, but that game has been postponed by Hurricane Rita. The game has been rescheduled for Sunday, Oct. 30 in Lubbock and will be the final game of the Big 12 regular season.

 

With Sunday’s postponement, the Huskers will return to Big 12 Conference action when they play host to Kansas at the Nebraska Soccer Field on Friday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m.