Nebraska Kicks Off Big 12 Season at Home

Lincoln -- The Nebraska soccer team improved to 5-2-1 last weekend to take a four-game unbeaten streak into Big 12 Conference play this week against Iowa State and Missouri. The Huskers play host to the Cyclones at 7 p.m. Friday and the Tigers at 1 p.m. Sunday at the Abbott Sports Complex before hitting the road once again.

 

NU shut out Mississippi State and Murray State in back-to-back home games last weekend with outstanding play from the underclassmen.

 

The Huskers have been led by freshmen, as three of NU's leading scorers are newcomers. Jessie Bruch leads the team with six points on three goals through eight games, while Ashley Carter has five points on two goals and one assist and junior Jenna Cooper has posted five points- all on assists.

 

Iowa State and Missouri have gotten off to impressive starts in 2003 with records of 3-2-2 and 5-3-0, respectively.

 

The Huskers opened Big 12 play in 2002 with a 4-0 win over Missouri and defeated Iowa State, 2-0.

 

Nebraska finished third in the Big 12 Conference last season with a 6-3-1 record before going on to win the conference tournament title. NU has won three Big 12 regular-season titles, most recently in 2000, and will try to win its fourth in 2003.

 

The Huskers have never lost to Iowa State or Missouri, with a combined 18-0-0 all-time record with the two teams.

 

Missouri (5-4-1) finished fifth in the conference last season and Iowa State (4-6-0) took a seventh-place finish. Neither team saw NCAA Tournament action.

 

On the Air

The Huskers' home games will be carried for the second year on KRNU 90.3 and can be found at Huskers.com. All games will be live on Huskers.com, while a few will also be carried on 90.3 FM, the campus student station. A student team of Chris Liberto, Dave Hunt and Tony Gorman will call the action throughout the season. Both of Nebraska's games this weekend can be found on the dial as well as the internet. Live stats will also be available to fans on Huskers.com for those wishing to follow the game statistically.

 

The Last Time We Met
After facing two first-time opponents last weekend, the Huskers play host to conference teams it knows very well this weekend. NU defeated Iowa State 2-0 on Oct. 13 in Ames, Iowa last season.

 

Nikki Baker and Kori Saunders each scored for the then 23rd-ranked Huskers. Nebraska outshot the Cyclones, 11-10, and both teams were able to get off six shots on goal.

 

The Huskers dominated Missouri, 4-0, in Columbia, Mo., last season to open conference action. NU posted three goals in the first half, by Saunders, Christine Latham and Baker. Latham added the fourth in the second half for good measure.

 

The shutout marked Nebraska's sixth of the season. The Tigers actually outshot NU, 23-20, but Nebraska fired nine shots on goal to MU's six.

 

ScoutingIowaState
The Iowa State Cyclones have faced a very similar schedule to Nebraska, with the two teams taking on four common non-conference opponents in the opening four weeks of play. ISU has faced DePaul (L, 0-2), Wisconsin (T, 1-1), Michigan (L, 2-4) and Mississippi State (W, 2-0). The Cyclones are 3-2-2 on the season and have wins over Arizona, Weber State and Mississippi State. Kate Kirwan and Kristina Baumann lead ISU with six points each on two goals and two assists.  Beth Chapman has played all but 20 minutes in goal for the Cyclones, posting two shutouts and a 1.25 goals-against average. Iowa State has been outshot by their opponents, 109-83, and have tied their opponents in overall score, 9-9.

 

The Cyclones are coached by former Nebraska goalkeeper Rebecca Hornbacher. ISU wrapped up the 2002 season with a 7-11-1 overall record and was seventh in the Big 12 Conference. The Cyclones return eight starters from the 2002 season, including top-returning scorer, Baumann and returning goalkeeper Chapman.

 

This past weekend, ISU defeated Mississippi State after Nebraska dropped the Bulldogs on Friday night. MSU actually outshot Iowa State, 15-11, but Baumann and Kirwan both contributed goals in the win. On Friday night, Iowa State tied Illinois State, 1-1, after 110 minutes of play. The Cyclones outshot ISU, 12-9, and Kirwan scored her first goal of the season to give the Cyclones the lead. Illinois State came back to knot the score on a goal by Diana Puckett at the 83:04 mark.

 

Scouting Missouri
Missouri enters the weekend 5-3-0 on the season and will travel to Colorado on Friday night before making the trip to Lincoln.

 

The Tigers went 1-1 last weekend, picking up an overtime win over Eastern Illinois and dropping a 4-0 decision to No. 5 Florida in Gainesville. Missouri has come up short against all three Southeastern Conference foes it has faced this season, including losses to Mississippi State (0-1) and Mississippi (1-2 OT).

 

Mizzou has been led offensively by Jennifer Noble, who has registered 12 points on five goals and two assists. Noble has taken 27 shots on the season, nearly doubling that of any of her teammates.

 

The Tigers have seen action from two different goalkeepers, with Stephanie Krawczyk getting a majority of the minutes. Krawczyk has combined with Megan Duncan for two shutouts and a 1.34 goals-against average. Duncan is 2-0-0 on the season, while Krawczyk is 2-3-0. Against Florida, Missouri was outshot 28-4 and never put a shot on goal. In the game, Krawczyk made 10 saves and gave up four goals. I