Huskers Prepare for Two Ranked Teams

Lincoln - Head Coach John Walker's Nebraska soccer team (2-2-1 overall, 0-0-0 Big Ten) has a tough weekend ahead of itself, as the Huskers will play a pair of top-25 ranked teams at the Hilton Garden Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va.

Coming off a 2-0-0 weekend that saw the Huskers outscore their opponents 14-1, NU will take on No. 25 Virginia Tech (6-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) on Friday and No. 18 Wake Forest (4-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) on Sunday. The Hokies and Demon Deacons have a combined 10-1-0 record on the young season.

The Huskers and Hokies will square off on Friday night at Thompson Field, with kickoff set for 6:30 p.m. (CT), and it will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. Live results will be available at HokieSports.com and the game will be live streamed, but a CBSSports.com premium account will be needed to watch the game.

Sunday's 10:30 a.m. game with Wake Forest will also be a first, as the Huskers and Demon Deacons have never met before. Wake Forest, who has allowed only two goals all season, recently lost it's first game of the year on Friday with a 2-1 loss to Connecticut, but bounced back on Sunday with a 3-0 win over Campbell. Live stats will be available at HokieSports.com for the game, but there will not be a live stream.

Scouting the Hokies

- Virginia Tech is 6-0-0 on the year and 2-0-0 at home.

- The Hokies have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 19-3.

- This weekend's tournament is the seventh tournament the Hokies have held in Blacksburg, where they own a 9-2-1 home tournament record.

- Virginia Tech is 0-3-0 all-time against teams from the Big Ten Conference.

- Teammates Erica Hollenberg and Gloria Douglas are tied for the ACC lead in assists with five each.

Scouting the Lumberjacks

- Wake Forest has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 15-2 in 2011.

- Wake Forest is one of eight ACC teams ranked in the top 25.

- Sophomore Katie Stengel scored a hat trick in the Demon Deacon's win 3-0 win over Campbell. It was the eighth hat trick in school history.

- Katie Stengel leads the ACC in points with 16. She has seven goals and two assists on the year.

Huskers vs. ACC
With a pair of first-time meetings with Virginia Tech and Wake Forest this weekend, the Huskers will look to improve on their winning record against the ACC.

The Huskers hold a 6-4-2 record all time over the ACC, including series against Boston College (1-0-0), Clemson (1-0-1), Duke (3-1-0), Florida State (1-0-0) and North Carolina (0-3-1).

The Tar Heels are the only ACC program to hold a winning record over the Huskers, as UNC improved its record to 3-0-1 over NU with a season-opening 2-1 earlier this season at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

After this weekend, the Huskers will have not played Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina State and Virginia.

Marlborough Earns Big Ten Honor
Junior Morgan Marlborough earned her first Big Ten Offensive Player-of-the-Week award on Monday, Sept. 5, after scoring five goals over the weekend, including a hat trick against Northern Arizona on Sunday. Marlborough shared the honor with Penn State sophomore Maya Hayes, who also had a hat trick against Pittsburgh.

Marlborough's hat trick on Sunday was the 28th hat trick in Nebraska soccer history and her third career hat trick. The Lee's Summit, Mo., native has notched three of NU's last four hat tricks, as Ann Caniglia produced the other against Kansas in 2009.

After not scoring a goal in the first two games of the season, Marlborough has now scored seven goals in Nebraska's last three games. She started the year seventh on Nebraska's all-time goals chart with 39 goals over her first two seasons and has now moved to fifth on the all-time list with 46 goals. She is two goals away from tying Meghan Anderson for the No. 4 spot.

As a player in the Big 12 Conference during her first two seasons, Marlborough earned five weekly awards, including newcomer of the week once and the conference offensive player of the week four times.

First-Timers
Three Huskers scored the first goals of the career on Sunday, Sept. 4, in an 8-1 win over Northern Arizona.

Sophomore Bri Badje was the first of the trio to score when she put in a penalty kick at 79:56. Freshman Samantha Areman followed less than three minutes later on assists from Badje and fellow freshman Mayme Conroy. Sophomore Maddie Hanssler was the last to score when Conroy set her up for an open-net goal at 85:17.

Movin' On Up
Morgan Marlborough continues to climb up the Nebraska career goals chart and is now ranked fifth with 46 career goals. The junior started the season in seventh place and has passed two-time All-American Brittany Timko (2003-06) and 1996 All-American Kari Uppinghouse (1995-97). Next up is Meghan Anderson (1998-01), who holds the No. 4 spot with 48 goals.

Christine Latham (1999-2002) holds the school record with 69 career goals.