Huskers Face Kansas at Big 12 Tournament

The Nebraska soccer team (12-6-1 overall, 6-3-1 Big 12) gets its first taste of postseason play this week when the fourth-seeded Huskers face fifth-seeded Kansas in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament in San Antonio, Texas.

In the nine-year history of the Big 12 Tournament, Nebraska has advanced to the semifinals eight times and has advanced to a league-high six championship games, where the Huskers have claimed a league-high five titles.

Overall, NU boasts a conference-best 16-4 record at the tournament, including a nine-game winning streak from 1998 to 2001.

The Huskers went 1-1 last weekend, ending their quest for a Big 12 regular-season title. NU controlled its own destiny heading into the weekend, but lost to Iowa State 2-0 on Friday, which combined with Texas A&M's 4-0 win over Baylor ended Nebraska's hopes for a share of the title.

NU finished in a four-way tie for second place in the final Big 12 standings with Colorado, Iowa State and Kansas. Head-to-head records between the four tied teams were used to break the tie, with CU earning the No. 2 seed, ISU claiming the No. 3 seed and NU and KU earning the four- and five-seeds to set up Wednesday's match. Nebraska and Kansas played to a 0-0 double-overtime tie in Lincoln on Sept. 30 in the only meeting between the teams this season.

The Huskers enter the game with the Jayhawks having won four of their last six matches. After being shut out by Iowa State on Friday, Nebraska rebounded with a 4-1 victory at Texas Tech on Sunday.

Junior Brittany Timko has led the NU offense of late, as she is in the midst of her most productive stretch of the season. In the last six games, Timko has had a hand in 13 of the Huskers' 15 goals. She has recorded at least three points in every game that NU has scored a goal in over that stretch, totaling six goals, seven assists and 19 points. A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Timko has recorded either an assist or found the back of the net on each of the Huskers' last 10 goals (6 goals, 4 assists).

Timko's 19 points in her last six games are two more points than she tallied in her first 13 games combined.

Against the Lady Raiders, Timko recorded the first hat trick by a Husker this season and also added an assist. Her assist was her 18th of the season, which broke Jenny Benson's single-season Nebraska record of 17 assists, established during the 1999 season. Timko currently ranks second in the nation with 18 assists and third with a 0.95 assists-per-game average.

Timko's hat trick against Tech was the third of her career, moving her into sole possession of second place on the NU career chart.

The Huskers' chance for the Big 12 title ended on a frustrating day against Iowa State on Friday. NU outshot Iowa State, 26-11, and won 14 corner kicks to ISU's one, but two Husker shots that hit the crossbar and two more that were cleared off the endline by Cyclone defenders were the highlights of a flurry of near-misses for Nebraska.

Scouting Kansas (11-6-2, 6-3-1 Big 12)
Nebraska and Kansas will meet for the second time in the same season for the second consecutive year. Last year, the Huskers swept KU, winning the regular-season match 1-0 and bouncing the Jayhawks from the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 overtime victory in the second round.

Kansas is playing its best soccer of the season, having won seven of its last eight games. KU began the Big 12 season 1-2-1 before rallying to finish 6-3-1.

KU is led offensively by Caroline Smith, who boasts team-best totals of eight goals, eight assists and 24 points and is one of five players with double-figure point totals.

In net, Colleen Quinn has started a team-high 10 games, but Julie Hanley has earned nine starts, including seven consecutive starts. While the Huskers saw Quinn in the first meeting, Hanley is expected to start on Wednesday. Hanley boasts a 0.94 goals-against average and is 7-1-0 as the Jayhawk starter. Quinn has a 1.16 GAA with five shutouts, but is just 4-4-2 as the starter.

Last Time We Met
Nebraska and Kansas played to a scoreless double-overtime tie in Lincoln on Sept. 30, NU's first tie in 49 games and the Huskers' first scoreless tie since Sept. 25, 1999.

The Jayhawks outshot the Huskers, 25-14, and enjoyed a 9-5 advantage in shots on goal. In a physical contest, Nebraska committed three more fouls than KU, but two Jayhawks, along with the Kansas bench received yellow cards.

Freshman goalkeeper Jamie Klages was brilliant in net, recording a career-high nine saves, while making several key saves to preserve the tie. The only statistical category where NU enjoyed an edge was in corner kicks, where the Huskers won seven to the Jayhawks' five.

Nebraska leads the all-time series 11-1-2, and is 2-0-0 all-time against Kansas in the Big 12 Tournament.

Big 12 Tournament Records
The Nebraska soccer team boasts a 16-4 all-time record at the Big 12 Tournament. The Huskers' 16 wins lead the league, while NU's .800 winning percentage also tops the conference. On the following page is a breakdown of the all-time Big 12 Tournament record of the eight teams competing in San Antonio this week:

All-Time Big 12 Tournament Records
Team Record (Winning Percentage)
Nebraska 16-4-0 (.800)
Texas A&M 11-5-1 (.676)
Missouri 8-7-0 (.533)
Texas 4-8-0 (.333)
Oklahoma 1-3-0 (.250)
Colorado 1-5-0 (.200)
Kansas 1-4-0 (.200)
Iowa State 0-5-1 (.083)

Timko Sets Assists Record
Junior Brittany Timko recorded an assist to go along with three goals at Texas Tech on Sunday in the Huskers' regular-season finale. The assist was her 18th of the season and broke Jenny Benson's school single-season record of 17, set in 1999.

Timko tied Benson's school record with three assists in the Huskers' 3-2 win over Oklahoma State on Oct. 24. Timko's third assist proved to be the game-winning assist, which was her seventh of the season, bettering her school record of six, set last season.

In addition to breaking the single-season school record, Timko's game-winning assist improved her career total to 13, which is tied with Meghan Anderson for the most in school history.

Timko Distributing and Finishing
Junior forward Brittany Timko became the first Husker to lead the team in both goals and assists in the 11-year history of Nebraska soccer by accomplishing the feat last season. In 2005, Timko is again leading NU in both goals and assists.

Timko has a three-goal lead over senior Sasha Andrews and freshman Aysha Jamani with nine goals this season. Timko enjoys a wider margin in assists, where her school-record 18 assists are 13 more than fellow junior Tanya Dennis, who ranks second on the team with five assists.

Meghan Anderson, who played for Nebraska from 1998 to 2001, is the only other Husker in school history to lead NU in goals and assists, although she never accomplished the feat in the same season. Anderson twice led the Huskers in assists (2000 and 2001) and led NU with 21 goals in 1999.

Timko's Tear
Junior Brittany Timko, the 2004 Big 12 Player of the Year and third-team All-American, may not have started the year producing points at the level she did last season, but she has picked up her play of late.

NU Head Coach John Walker says Timko's increased assist total and added leadership have made her even better in 2005. But for good measure, Timko is in the midst of one of her patented scoring tears.

Over her last six games, Timko has scored six goals and notched seven assists for a total of 19 points. In comparison, Timko tallied just 17 points in her first 13 games before her recent tear.

Timko now leads the team with 36 points and is the first Husker to record back-to-back seasons of 30 or more points since Christine Latham strung together three consecutive 30-point seasons from 2000 to 2002. With four more points, Timko would put together back-to-back seasons with at least 40 points.

NU Dominates All-Time Squad
A league-best six Huskers were among 13 players selected to the Big 12 Soccer 10th Anniversary Team, selected by the league’s head coaches. In order to be eligible for consideration, former athletes must have been named All-Big 12 first team at least once in their careers.

Breanna Boyd (1999-2002), Isabelle Morneau (1996-99) and Sharolta Nonen (1996-99) earned three of the four defender spots, while Meghan Anderson (1998-2001) and Jenny Benson (1996-2000) were two of the five midfielders honored. Christine Latham (1999-2002) was the lone Husker forward honored.

Benson and Morneau were each four-time first-team All-Big 12 selections, while Latham, Anderson and Nonen each made three appearances on the first-team All-Big 12 squad. Latham and Anderson also added a second-team selection in their freshman seasons. Boyd was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 pick.

In addition to the All-Big 12 honors, Latham was voted the league’s Player of the Year in 2000 and 2001, while Nonen was the 1999 Big 12 Player of the Year.

Nebraska dominated the selections, as nearly half of the players were Huskers. Texas A&M, with three selections, was the only other team to have more than one player on the Anniversary team. NU has had 37 first-team All-Big 12 picks all-time, while A&M ranks second with 24 first-team selections. The Huskers lead the league in conference victories, All-Big 12 picks, Player-of-the-Year recipients and rank first in the conference with a combined eight Big 12 titles.

Wright Out For Season
Junior goalkeeper Katie Wright, who was 3-1-0 in goal this season and boasted a 1.50 goals-against average, is out for the season with a knee injury. The injury has bothered Wright for most of the season before she learned last week that she would miss the remainder of the season.

Wright joins senior Aly Scace, sophomores Brigid Kenny and Sari Raber and freshmen Ali Lokanc, Lindsay Poehling - four of whom started at least one game this season - as Huskers who have suffered season-ending injuries.

Seniors Say Goodbye
Nebraska's five-player 2005 senior class consisting of Sasha Andrews, Nikki Baker, Katie Bunkers, Vern Fitzgerald, injured starter Aly Scace and undergraduate assistant coach Kari Hogan were honored following their final regular-season home game against Iowa State on Friday.

The class has posted an impressive 55-29-5 (.646 winning percentage) record to date. The group also posted a win in three consecutive NCAA Tournaments and advanced to a pair of Sweet 16 appearances.

In the Big 12 Conference, the class captured the 2002 Big 12 Tournament title and has posted an overall league record of 24-14-2 (.625) to date, including winning at least six conference games each season.

At home, the group has posted a 30-12-3 (.700) record to date, posting at least seven home victories each season. The group has started a combined 295 career games and has produced 48 goals, 23 assists and 119 points.

Timko Plays the Numbers Game
Junior Brittany Timko has reached several numerical milestones this season. With a three-assist performance against Oklahoma State on Oct. 23, Timko notched the 30th assist and 80th point of her career.

Timko is one of just six Huskers to tally at least 30 assists in a career in the 12-year history of Nebraska soccer. With 88 points, she ranks eighth on the NU career chart.

A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Timko also joined the 25-goal/25-assist club with a pair of goals against Oklahoma on Oct. 21. She is only the fifth player in school history to join the club and is just two goals shy of joining Meghan Anderson as the only Huskers in the 30-goal/30-assist club.

30 Points Times Two
Junior Brittany Timko notched seven points last weekend to push her season total to a team-best 36 points. Her first of three goals against Texas Tech on Sunday marked her 31st point of the season, giving her consecutive seasons where she totaled at least 30 points.

Timko is the first Husker to post back-to-back seasons of at least 30 points since Christine Latham strung together three consecutive 30-point seasons from 2000 to 2002.

Game-Winning Assists Record
One year after she established a school single-season record for game-winning assists, junior Brittany Timko is at it again. By assisting on the Huskers' final goal as part of a three-assist effort in a 3-2 win over Oklahoma State on Oct. 23, Timko posted her seventh game-winning assist of the year, breaking her school record set last season.

That game-winning assist was also the 13th of her career, tying the school record. Her next game-winning assist would give her 14 for her career and would break Meghan Anderson's school record.

Timko Ranks High in Assists
Junior Brittany Timko has recorded 18 assists in 19 games this season. When the NCAA statistical rankings were released on Tuesday, Timko ranked second in the nation with 18 assists and was third with an assists-per-game average of 0.95.

Nearing 200
Head Coach John Walker, the only coach in the history of the Nebraska soccer program, needs just two victories to reach 200 career wins and 200 victories at Nebraska. Walker, who ranks 22nd among active coaches in career victories, has a career record of 198-58-9 in 12 years at the helm of the Huskers. Walker has averaged nearly 17 wins a season at NU and at that pace would reach the 200-win plateau this season. Walker would become just the 22nd coach in the history of women's Division I soccer to post 200 career victories.

Posting 10 Victories
With 12 wins this season, the Huskers have continued the program's winning tradition. Nebraska has won at least 10 games in each of the 12 seasons in program history, including seven seasons with at least 15 wins and three seasons of 20 or more victories.

Scoring Explosion
Nebraska exploded for six goals in a 6-0 victory at Oral Roberts on Oct. 14. The six goals were a season high, topping the team's previous best total of four against UAB on Aug. 28. The six goals were also the most road goals for NU since the Huskers scored 10 goals at Oklahoma State on Oct. 24, 1999.

There's No Place Like Home
After its 2-0 loss against Iowa State on Friday, the Huskers finished 8-2-1 in their inaugural season at the Nebraska Soccer Field. In contrast, the Huskers are 3-4 away from Lincoln.

Last season, Nebraska was 5-2-0 away from Lincoln and just 7-6 at home.

When Leading at the Half...
When Nebraska overcame a 1-0 halftime deficit at Colorado on Sept. 23 to post a 2-1 victory, it marked the first time this season the Huskers have won when trailing at the half. NU is 1-4 this season when trailing at the half and is 7-28-0 all-time when trailing at the half.

In contrast, the Huskers are 9-0 this season and a remarkable 156-2-2 all-time when leading at the half.

Coming Back
The Huskers have proven they have the ability to come back this season. In four of their 11 victories, the Huskers were down by a goal at some point in the game.

In the San Diego State game on Sept. 6, Nebraska responded after the Aztecs erased a 1-0 halftime deficit and took a 2-1 lead by scoring a pair of goals with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Nebraska again fell behind 1-0 to Rice on Sept. 11, but rallied for three unanswered goals to cruise to a 3-1 victory.

On Sept. 18 against UC Irvine, the Anteaters jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but a pair of goals lifted the Huskers to victory.

At Colorado on Sept. 23, NU trailed 1-0 at halftime before rallying behind two goals from sophomore Jessie Bruch to post a 2-1 victory. Although the Huskers have shown the ability to come back, the win over CU marked Nebraska's first victory when trailing at the half.

Corner Kickin'
Nebraska, which has historically enjoyed a tremendous advantage in corner kicks taken, is again out-cornering its opponents by a large margin.

NU has won a league-best 139 corner kicks, while limiting its opponents to just 59. Even more impressive is the second-half breakdown of corner kicks. In the final 45 minutes, the Huskers have won 79 corner kicks, while limiting their opponents to just 22 through 18 games.

Last weekend, NU enjoyed an overwhelming combined advantage of 26-2 over Iowa State and Texas Tech.

Nearing 70
Senior Nikki Baker has seven points this season and now has 68 points in her career.

With two more points, Baker will become only the 11th player in school history to record 70 or more points in a career.

A native of Bixby, Okla., Baker ranks 10th in school history with 68 career points.

Immediate Impact
Even with an experienced team returning nine starters from last year's squad and the return of sophomore Jessie Bruch, the Huskers have received plenty of support from their talented freshman class.

In three of Nebraska's first seven wins, the game-winning goal came off the foot of a freshman. Against Minnesota in the season opener, Lauren Isenhower notched her first career goal off an assist from junior Brittany Timko and against UAB two days later, Aysha Jamani's first of two goals proved to be the game winner in the Huskers' 4-0 win.

Ten freshmen made their collegiate debuts in the Huskers' opening weekend wins, including Selenia Iacchelli who has started all 15 contests this season. In addition to logging minutes, the freshmen have combined to contribute 11 goals and eight assists.

To date, six freshmen have earned a start.

Extra Credit
Senior Sasha Andrews and junior Brittany Timko took advantage of the only open Sunday date by joining the Canadian World Cup team in a friendly match with Germany in Edmonton, Alberta on Sept. 4.

Against the 2003 World Cup Champion Germans, both players contributed in a hard-fought 4-3 loss. The Canadians scored their third goal of the game off a Timko corner kick in the 86th minute.

Huskers on TV
NU's Oct. 2 match with Missouri and Oct. 21 contest with Oklahoma were eached televised live by NET2 in Nebraska and nationally by CSTV.

The televised games marked the only two regular-season games that CSTV televised live on a national basis.

New Faces on the Sideline
The new on-campus home of the Huskers is not the only dramatic change from the 2004 season. For the first time in 10 years, a new face will be seen alongside NU coaches John Walker and Marty Everding, each of whom has been a part of the program since its inception in 1994. Ann Cook joins the staff for her first season in 2005, replacing Megan Skinner. Cook's addition to the staff represents the first change to the staff in 10 years.

Another new face to the sideline this season is still a familiar face to Husker fans. Kari Hogan, a senior this season, has decided to serve as the undergraduate assistant coach instead of playing her final season.

The Nebraska Soccer Field
The Huskers have a chance to make school history on the field in 2005, but their field itself has already made program history. For the first time in the 12-year history of Nebraska soccer, the Huskers are playing their home games on campus.

The field offers one of the most convenient settings in the nation. Nestled between the home of Husker football and volleyball, it is also near the two full-size indoor practice facilities NU enjoys.

Nebraska Soccer Field Firsts
In the first regular-season home game on campus in program history, senior Nikki Baker scored the first goal in the history of the Nebraska Soccer Field. Juniors Abby Penas and Tanya Dennis added the first assists, while freshman Aysha Jamani notched the first multi-goal game at the Nebraska Soccer Field. Fellow freshman Jamie Klages also recorded the first shutout at the new home in the second game of the season against UAB.

The first tie in field history came on Friday as the Huskers' battled Kansas to a 0-0 tie after two overtime periods.

Timko on Watch List
Junior Brittany Timko, the 2004 Big 12 Soccer Player of the Year and a third-team NSCAA All-American, was one of 25 players named to the Hermann Award preseason watch list.

The Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy honors the top male and female Division I college soccer players.