Huskers and Jayhawks Play to Scoreless Tie

Lincoln - Despite 39 combined shots and several quality scoring chances, the Nebraska soccer team played to a 0-0 tie with Kansas on Friday afternoon at the Nebraska Soccer Field. The tie was the Huskers' first in 49 games, dating back to a 1-1 tie with Michigan on Sept. 12, 2003 and was NU's first scoreless tie since Sept. 25, 1999 at Clemson.

The tie was also Nebraska's first in Big 12 play since a Sept. 29, 2002 match at Kansas. With Friday's tie, NU is now 6-3-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in the Big 12, while Kansas is 5-4-2 and 1-1-1, respectively

NU Head Coach John Walker was pleased with his team's effort despite the scoreless tie.

"It was probably a fair result," Walker said. "Both teams had chances. I liked the way our players battled. I can't complain. The players out there did a terrific job."

In goal, freshman Jamie Klages recorded a career-high nine saves, topping her previous career high of six established last Friday at Colorado. The shutout was her second of the season. Colleen Quinn recorded five saves in net for Kansas.

Offensively, KU outshot NU 10-6 in each of the first two halves and earned a 5-2 advantage in the two overtime periods. Kansas had an excellent scoring chance in the 24th minute when the Jayhawks earned a corner kick and the ball was loose in the box before it was deflected toward goal, where it bounced off the post before being corralled by Klages. Nearly one minute later, Caroline Smith made a nice run, but senior Nikki Baker got back for NU and made a sliding block and the ball ricocheted and hit the post again.

The Jayhawk flurry came five minutes after junior Brittany Timko beat a defender to the endline and sent a point-blank shot on goal that was pushed wide by KU goalkeeper Colleen Quinn. On the ensuing Timko corner kick, senior Vern Fitzgerald collected the loose ball in the box, but her shot sailed high.

In the second half, Klages made several key saves in net, while NU again won several quality chances. Baker nearly scored a goal in the 64th minute, but as she raced toward a free ball in the box, she collided with Quinn and the ball rolled to a Jayhawk defender.

The Huskers had another excellent chance off a Timko corner kick midway through the second half. Freshman Selenia Iacchelli found the ball in the box and got off a shot that was re-directed on goal before being cleared by the Kansas defense.

Klages made two key diving saves in the final 45 minutes of regulation to force extra time. In the 58th minute, KU's Jessica Bush sent a great shot headed for the far post before a sprawling, outstretched Klages got her fingertips on the to redirect it out of bounds. A minute later, Michelle Rasmussen sent another quality ball on goal that Klages was able to dive and punch clear of danger.

Both teams had close calls in overtime, but each team managed only one shot on goal in the extra 20 minutes. In a classic Kansas-Nebraska match, the two teams played their second consecutive overtime match. The Huskers used a first-overtime goal from Baker to notch a 2-1 win at Kansas in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

Nebraska returns to action on Sunday when it faces Missouri at 1 p.m. at the Nebraska Soccer Field. The game will be televised live by NET2 and CSTV, while live stats and audio are also available on Huskers.com.