Huskers Enjoy Trip to ScotlandHuskers Enjoy Trip to Scotland
Soccer

Huskers Enjoy Trip to Scotland

The Nebraska soccer team took advantage of its international trip earlier this month, spending nearly two weeks in Scotland and won each of its five games, while also exploring the country.

"The trip was excellent from a soccer standpoint," Head Coach John Walker said. "Our training facility in Stirling was right next to our accommodations, so we could walk to practice. The venue was terrific with a good surface and amazing scenery in the background. It was an uplifting place to train. The games were all competitive and challenging as we had three teams from the Scottish Women's Premier League (Forfar Farmington FC, Rangers FC and Celtic FC), the Scotland U-19 National Team, who is preparing for the European Championships, and finally the Glasgow City Development team.

"We were able to work on multiple team shapes and diversify how we both attack and defend as a team.  Several players really made a jump from the spring season and the team progressed as a whole. We played our best soccer in the final two games. The beginning of August training camp is only six weeks away and I feel that we can build again on what we did on this Scotland trip."

"Scotland was a great trip that helped our team in more ways than one," senior Sinclaire Miramontez said. "On one side, we got more game experience together, which is a huge advantage for the fall season. Our freshmen joined us and learned our style of play. Getting to do that in a no consequence setting is helpful for their transition. We were also able to try out some new tactics and see how they worked, so that we can fine-tune them once fall camp starts.

On the other side, our team grew closer together off the field and allowed us all to make new memories in a new country together. We saw beautiful cities, scenic countrysides, hairy cows and made friends with the Scottish teams we played. This is one experience I don't think any of us will ever forget."

The Huskers opened their trip with a 7-0 triumph over Forfar Farmington on June 13. Goalkeepers Aubrei Corder and Mayte Corral contributed to a shutout, while Natalie Cooke recorded a hat trick. Emma Marcus, Adriana Maldonado, Hannah McKinney and Kate Leachman also scored goals.

Two days later, NU posted a 1-0 victory over the Scotland U-19 National Team, as Meg Brandt scored the Huskers' lone goal and Corder earned a shutout.

On June 17, Nebraska defeated Glasgow City Development by a 2-1 margin, as Cooke and Olivia Brown found the back of the net for the Big Red.

View this post on Instagram

Had a great day exploring the city of Glasgow today! Check out our story to see more of what we did! #ScotSkers

A post shared by Nebraska Soccer (@nebraskasoccer) on Jun 14, 2019 at 8:38am PDT

The Huskers notched a 3-1 win over Rangers FC on June 19. Marcus, Brenna Ochoa and Cooke were responsible for NU's goals in the victory.

NU closed its trip with a 3-0 triumph over Celtic FC on June 21. Corder and Corral combined to post a shutout, while Theresa Pujado scored two goals and Kenzie Coons added one score.

"From a team building exercise, this was a success," Walker said. "We promote a player driven culture and the players took ownership of creating their itinerary for the trip in terms of places to visit and meals to eat. They understand the unconditional effort that goes into building strong relationships within the group and I believe there was growth in this area."

View this post on Instagram

Thanks to these two and the rest of the Nebraska soccer staff for an amazing trip! Learned a lot on and off the field! #ScotlandTour2019

A post shared by Nebraska Soccer (@nebraskasoccer) on Jun 22, 2019 at 2:04pm PDT

Walker added that the Huskers benefitted from the work they put in before the trip to help them be successful in Scotland.

"The 10 days of practice prior to traveling to Scotland were invaluable," Walker said. "It was basically a training camp in terms of practices, meetings, video and skill sessions. We had a really productive spring in terms of player development, and this allowed us to build on that."

Senior Savanah Uveges added, "Scotland couldn't have gone better. Overall the trip gave us very valuable time dedicated to mastering our style of play and we are returning to Nebraska as a team with more confidence and determination to be a dominating force in the fall. We had a great time together and made life long memories."

For more on the Nebraska soccer team's trip to Scotland, visit the #ScotSkers blog here.