Huskers Continue Road Trip at Rutgers, Maryland

The Nebraska soccer team (4-7-1, 1-4-1 Big Ten) will wrap up its three-match road trip as the Huskers travel east to face Rutgers (8-1-3, 4-0-2 Big Ten) on Thursday and Maryland (3-7-4, 0-5-1 Big Ten) on Sunday. Action against the Scarlet Knights is slated for 6:30 p.m. (CT) and will air on BTN, while Sunday’s match with the Terrapins is set for 12 p.m. (CT) on Big Ten Plus. 

Next Up

The Huskers return home to host Oregon on Thursday, Oct. 17 and Washington on Sunday, Oct. 20. Thursday’s match, set for 7:05 p.m. (CT), and Sunday’s match, starting at 1:05 p.m. (CT), will both be streamed on Big Ten Plus. 

Numbers to Watch

• Sarah Weber, a 2024 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, recorded her second career hat trick against Creighton earlier this season. It’s the 36th hat trick in school history and second of the 2024 season for Weber.
• Weber is also third in school history with 311 total shots, sitting behind Meghan Anderson (344) in second, and eight in shots on goal with 125, four behind Kari Uppinghouse in seventh. Additionally, Weber is currently third in the country in shots per game, as she is averaging 5.50.
• Florence Belzile is ninth all-time in Husker history with 26 career assists, just one shy of Lindsay Eddleman in eighth. Belzile, Jordan Zade and Lauryn Anglim, the team’s assists leaders, each have four on the season. 

Quick Notes

• The NCAA released the updated RPI on Monday, and Nebraska is ranked 71st. Four Big Ten teams are in the Top 10: Michigan State (4th), Penn State (6th), Iowa (7th) and USC (9th). Rutgers is 27th.  
• In the conference standings, Weber is leading all players with 66 shots on the year and is tied for sixth with seven goals on the season. She is fifth in shots on goal with 23 on the season, just seven out of first. Anglim, Belzile and Zade have combined for 12 assists on the year, good for eighth in the standings. 
• NU enters the week in 13th in the conference standings with four points (three points for a win, one point for a tie). 
• Reese Snowden is the lone Husker freshman to see action on the pitch last year, as she is currently second on the team in goals (3) and tied for second in points with six. 
• During the 2023 season, the Huskers averaged 1,326 fans per game at Hibner Stadium, third most in Husker history and 15th in the nation. This season, NU is ninth in average attendance with 1,502 fans, and the match against Creighton garnered 2,382 fans, second-most all-time at Hibner Stadium. 

Scouting Rutgers 

• Rutgers is 8-1-3 on the year and 4-0-2 in the conference. Rutgers’ lone loss came to UMass in August, but since then have quality wins over NC State, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington. Notably, in their last two conference matches the Scarlet Knights tied #1 Michigan State and #19 Penn State. 
• After matching up with the Huskers on Thursday, Rutgers will face Iowa at home. 
• Head Coach Mike O’Neill is in her 11th season at the helm of the Rutgers’ soccer program and 25th year overall with the program. O’Neill holds a career record of 144-45-38. 
• The Scarlet Knights and Huskers are 0-1-7 all-time, with all matches coming in the Big Ten regular season since 2014. Rutgers holds the only non-draw in the series, topping Nebraska 1-0 in New Jersey in 2021. 

Scouting Maryland 

• Maryland is 3-7-4 overall and 0-5-1 in Big Ten play. The Terrapins’ most recent win came at the beginning of September over VCU, but since then have started conference play with five losses and a tie with Northwestern. Before facing Nebraska on Sunday, Maryland will welcome Penn State on Thursday. 
• Head Coach Meghan Ryan Nemzer is in her third season as the head coach of the Maryland soccer program. Nemzer holds a career record of 10-25-14 and a conference mark of 3-21-2. 
• The Terrapins and Huskers have met seven times with the Huskers leading the overall series, 6-0-1. Most recently, Nebraska topped Maryland at home in 2023, 3-0.