Huskers Welcome Boston College in NCAA 2nd Round

Friday, Nov. 22 - NCAA Second Round
Game One: No. 7 Portland vs. Illinois - 11 a.m.
Game Two: No. 10 Nebraska vs. Boston College - 2 p.m.
Field: Nebraska Soccer Field  Location: Lincoln, Neb.
Live Stats: Huskers.com  Video: Huskers.com (Free)

Nebraska soccer, a No. 2 seed, team looks to extend the nation’s longest winning streak when the Huskers play host to Boston College in NCAA Second Round action on Friday at 2 p.m. The weekend regional begins with Portland battling Illinois at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

Johnson’s Historic Performance Lifts NU in NCAA First Round
Nebraska advanced to the Second Round with a historic four-goal performance from freshman Jaycie Johnson on Friday as the Huskers defeated Southeastern Louisiana, 4-0. Johnson became only the fifth player and first freshman in NCAA Tournament history to score four goals in a tournament match. She becomes the first NU player to notch four goals in an NCAA Tournament match and the just the fourth Husker to record four scores in one contest. NU posted season highs in shots (35), targeted chances (17) and corners (10).

The Second Team All-Big Ten honoree finished with career highs in goals (4), shots (9) and shots on goal (7) as she worked 59 minutes in Nebraska’s first NCAA Tournament match since 2005. Johnson’s 17 goals this season are tied for second best in Nebraska history amongst freshman. It marks the 32nd hat trick under Head Coach John Walker in the program’s 20-year history.

Freshman Phenom
Jaycie Johnson has taken the Big Ten by storm and kept it going in the NCAA Tournament after taking home B1G Offensive Player of the Tournament honors as well as a unanimous choice on the B1G All-Freshman team. Johnson’s 17 scores leads NU and rank 13th in the country, including third best among Division I freshman. The Lake Winnebago, Mo. native is the fifth Husker to record seven or more game-winning goals in one season. Johnson has the second-best goal total of any freshman in Nebraska history tied with Lindsay Eddleman and trailing just Morgan Marlborough (21).

Nebraska Notes
The 10th-ranked Huskers (19-3-1) are riding the longest active winning streak in NCAA Division I and fifth-best run in school history at 10 games and have won 17 of their last 18 matches for the first time since 2000. The 19 victories, fourth most in program history, are also NU’s most since 2000, while scores in 19 consecutive matches are the most since that same season.

It is the first time since 2002 the Huskers have 3 players with 20+ points (Johnson 36, Jackson 30, Conroy 23). Nebraska is one of three schools to have three players with 20-plus points and two players with 30-plus points. There are only eight teams with a pair of 30-point producers, while only six have three 20-plus point performers. Statistically, NU features the 22nd-rated scoring offense in the nation.

Huskers in the NCAA Tournament
Nebraska is 16-10 all-time in their 11th trip to the NCAA Tournament and have never lost in the First Round. The Huskers are looking for their ninth Sweet 16 appearance with a win and first since 2004. NU has an 11-5-1 home record in the NCAA Tournament and made its return to the dance this year for the first time since 2005. Prior to 2013, only two NCAA matches have been played at Nebraska Soccer Field, where the Scarlet and Cream are 63-23-12 in the ninth and final season of play with the new venue expected to open in 2014.

NU Season Trends
The Scarlet and Cream are 15-0-1 when scoring 2 or more goals this season and 13-0-1 both when scoring first and when leading at the half. The Huskers are 14-0-1 when scoring 2 or more goals this season and 11-0-1 when scoring first. Nebraska has allowed just 22 goals in 23 matches during this season, outscoring opponents by a 53-22 margin. NU has a 9-0 record this year when playing on Fridays.

Husker Dominant on Defense
Senior Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and of the B1G Tournament Ari Romero (91.1 mpg - including 14 consecutive full matches played), Maritza Hayes (played every second in 11 of last 14 matches) and Kylie Greischar (80 mpg) along with junior Sam Areman and sophomore Jaylyn Odermann have keyed the NU defense. Although these defenders seldom find the stat sheet, their contributions on the field have been a major factor on this year’s NU squad. The vaunted NU defense has played in 13 one-goal matches, finishing with an 11-2 mark in those contests.

The Huskers outshot its opponent for the first time in the last 14 matches in the First Round victory but the defensive unit has become a story on its own and a key part of Nebraska’s success this season. In the regular season, NU won ten conference matches for the second time in school history (1999) and registered 15 wins for the first time since 2000.

This season is the first time with eight shutouts (four conference) since 2002 when the Big Red finished with 14 total shutouts, including 11 in the regular season. NU allowed multiple goals in just six of its 23 matches, including just once to Penn State in the last 10 contests.

Stevens’ Sensational Season
NU senior goalkeeper Emma Stevens earned her 37th career victory in the 4-0 clean sheet win over SE Louisiana in the First Round for her 10th career shutout. Stevens currently has a 262-minute scoreless streak in tact.

On Oct. 20, Emma Stevens surpassed former Husker Erin Miller (239) to become the all-time leader in saves at Nebraska. The graduate student sits alone in first with 268 career stops. Stevens is near the top of several all-time NU goalkeeping categories, including second in minutes played (6,131), starts (68) and games played (72), while ranking third in wins (37) and sixth in shutouts (10.3).

More notably, Stevens capped the scoring for the Huskers with a dropkick that evaded the IU keeper on a high bounce that found the back of the net for the first score by a Nebraska keeper in school history as the Huskers won the B1G title.

Stevens amassed a 0.90 goals-against average in Big Ten action allowing 10 goals in 11 matches. In road league matches, Stevens boasted an impressive 0.77 GAA stopping 29 shots in five matches at a 87.9 percent clip.

Scouting Boston College
Boston College (11-9-1, 6-6-1 ACC) finished sixth in the difficult ACC conference, which received all four No. 1 seeds. The Eagles went 6-9 in 15 matches decided by one goal or less. BC is led by a tandem of 30-point performers in McKenzie Meehan (18 G, 1 A) and Stephanie McCaffrey (12 G, 8 A).

Jackson - B1G Midfielder of the Year
Jordan Jackson has been heating up as she has recorded goals in six of her last nine matches and notched points in nine of her last 10, including five of six. Jackson’s 35th career tally ranks eighth among all-time Husker goal scorers, while her 31 assists are fifth best in program history.

On the all-time lists at Nebraska, Jackson is fourth in shots (270) and fifth in shots on goal (136) as well as tied for eighth in points (101) and 10th in game-winning goals (9) all-time at NU. Jackson is the fourth Husker to notched two assists in an NCAA Tournament match and becomes fifth to have five game-winning helpers in one season.

Leading at the Break?
Nebraska is 210-5-5 all-time when leading at the half. In 33 all-time Big Ten Conference games, the Huskers have led at the half just 12 times, but are 9-0 this year in the conference holding halftime leads.

The Huskers only trailed for a total of 65:13 in 11 regular-season conference matches this season as NU trailed in just two matches during Big Ten play. In 1,731:41 of action this season, Nebraska trailed for just 249:03. NU’s last two goals allowed came in the first seven minutes of action, spanning four matches.

National Rankings
Nebraska soccer jumped up eight spots to No. 10 in the last National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire Women’s Division I poll. This marks the team’s seventh consecutive week in the Top 25 and highest ranking since early September 2002.

2013 Big Ten Champions
“Big Ten Champs!” - A preseason goal that evolved into a rallying cry for the Nebraska soccer team became a reality on Friday as the Huskers claimed its first 2013 Big Ten Conference title, their first regular-season championship since 2000.

The preseason Big Ten coaches poll put Nebraska at No. 9 but the players had different plans. At the start of spring camp, the goal was to win the league as they ended each practice with the phrase “Big Ten Champs!” On Friday, the Huskers accomplished their goal with a 3-1 Senior Day victory followed by a trophy celebration on Nov. 1 over Indiana.

Goals from Mayme Conroy, Jaycie Johnson and goalkeeper Emma Stevens gave NU a historic victory on a wet and windy day in Lincoln. Nebraska featured the No. 2 scoring offense in the B1G.

The Huskers finished with a 10-1 Big Ten record, the most league wins for NU since 1999 en route to its fourth regular-season title in program history. Nebraska won regular season titles in 1996, 1999 and 2000, while taking home tournament titles in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2002.

The NU defense was impressive on its way to a 31-12 scoring advantage against league opponents especially considering Big Ten opponents had 34 more corner kick opportunities (83-49). In Big Ten action, NU was outshot 244-184 but led in shots on goal by a 89-77 margin, a true testament to the Nebraska defense who routinely stonewalled conference foes when quality scoring chances arise.

Follow the Huskers
For those unable to make it to Lincoln, be sure to catch all the action this Friday and Sunday as all three matches will have live video streaming on Huskers.com. Also, join in on the conversation and follow the NU soccer team on Twitter at @NebraskaSoccer or ‘like’ Nebraska Soccer on Facebook.

Longest Nebraska Win Streaks
23 - 1996
15 - 2000
14 - 1999
13 - 1997
10 - 2013