Huskers Take On Washington in NCAA First-Round Action

Lincoln -- The Nebraska soccer team opens its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament Friday at 1 p.m. central time, against the Washington Huskies at Merlo Field in Portland, Ore.

The Huskers are 12-7-1 on the season and went 1-1 last weekend in the Big 12 Tournament, dropping No. 14 Texas A&M 2-1 in overtime and falling to Missouri, 3-2.

Washington is 11-6-3 on the season and has impressive wins over Maryland (2-1), Texas (3-1), Oregon (2-0), Washington State (2-0), and California (3-1).

"I think it is a tough bracket," Coach John Walker said. "The way to look at it is that every team in the tournament is a good team. We are pleased to still be playing and we just have to prepare for that first game."

The meeting between the Huskers and the Huskies will mark only the second time in school history the two squads have met. The two teams faced off in 1995 in Portland, with Washington coming out on top 5-1.

Washington is making its seventh appearance in the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season.

The Huskies finished fifth in the Pac-10 with a 4-4-1 conference record.

The winner between Nebraska and Washington will go on to face either Denver or defending national champion Portland on its home turf at Merlo Field.

The NCAA second round game is scheduled at 3 p.m. Sunday in Portland.

The Huskers are 11-6-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament games and have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 the last seven years.

In 2002 Nebraska defeated Hartford and Yale in the first and second rounds, respectively, and fell 3-2 in the round of 16 to eventual national runner-up Santa Clara.

Nebraska is one of eight Big 12 teams to receive berths in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The eight league teams are a conference record and leads the nation.

The Huskers faced 11 NCAA Tournament teams during the 2003 regular season and played Denver in the preseason. Together, NU compiled a 6-6-1 record against NCAA Tournament teams.

To make it to the College Cup Dec. 5 and 7, it is possible that the Huskers could have to go through the No. 1, 8, and 9 national seeds in the process.

Where to Find the Game

The Huskers’ NCAA Tournament games can be followed only by live statistics through the University of Portland website at www.PortlandPilots.com. There will be no radio or television available for the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament.

The Last Time We Met

The Huskers have only faced Washington once before in school history. In the second season of the program in 1995 Nebraska fell to UW 5-1 at the adidas Invite in Portland, Ore.

The Huskers lost to Portland 3-0 two days earlier in the same tournament. After that weekend, NU went 9-4-0 the rest of the 1995 season.

Nebraska faced Denver during the preseason, defeating the Pioneers 1-0 at the Abbott Sports Complex on Aug. 22. NU is 1-0-0 against Denver in regular-season games, taking a 2-0 decision at home against DU in 1999.

The Huskers’ last took on Portland lin 2002, when the Pilots won 4-0 at Merlo Field. Nebraska is 1-5-1 all-time against UP and the Pilots have acquired a national title since the last time the teams met in 2002.

The Huskers are 0-5-0 against the Pilots in Portland.

Scouting Washington
Washington has posted an 11-6-3 regular-season record and finished fifth in the Pac-10 for the second consecutive season, going 4-4-1 in conference play. The Huskies are led by junior Tina Frimpong, who has accumulated 30 points on 13 goals and four assists on the season. Frimpong leads the Pac-10 in goals and total points. The Husky defense has also held opponents to 18 goals and a 0.85 goals-against average.

UW has compiled wins over Texas and Maryland and a tie with Connecticut and four of the Huskies’ six losses came at the hands of North Carolina, UCLA (2), and Portland.

Washington closed out the season with a 1-0 loss to Arizona State and a 3-0 win over Arizona at home last weekend.

The Huskies fell out of this week’s NSCAA Top 25 after being as high as No. 13 last week.

Washington is coached by Leslie Gallimore, who has compiled a 145-98-22 career record and a 113-73-13 mark at UW.

The Huskies returned nine starters from their 2002 roster as well as 14 letterwinners, while only losing two starters and six letterwinners.

Scouting Denver
After falling 1-0 to the Huskers during the exhibition season, Denver has gone on to post an outstanding 18-3-0 regular-season record and captured its third consecutive Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. The Pioneers are led by senior Jenni Harris with 40 points on 17 goals and six assists on the season, as well as six game-winning goals.

Denver will face Portland for the second time this season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers posted a come-from-behind 4-3 win over Portland on Sept. 26 in Denver.

The Pioneers have played four different goalkeepers this season, for a combined 0.84 goals-against average. They have outscored their opponents 58-18 in 2003 and have more than doubled their opponents’ shots, 343-164.

Scouting Portland
The defending national champions have climbed to 16-3-1 on the season and a No. 5 NSCAA Ranking.  The Pilots closed the regular season with a 2-2 tie against San Diego to finish 5-1-1 and second place in the West Coast Conference.

The only losses Portland has taken this season have come at the hands of Denver, Connecticut and Santa Clara, all of which have come in overtime.

The Pilots returned 11 letterwinners and six starters from the 2002 roster. One of the returning starters is Christine Sinclair, who joined Huskers Brittany Timko and Tanya Dennis playing for the Canadian National Team in the Women’s World Cup. Sinclair is redshirting the 2003 season for Portland.

The 2003 team is led by Lindsey Huie who has 33 points on 10 goals and 13 assists on the season. The Pilots have placed three goalkeepers in the net with Cori Alexander getting the majority of the minutes with a 0.61 goals-against average. Portland has outscored its opponents 50-13 in 2003 and has outshot them 319 to 153.

Portland claimed the 2002 NCAA Championship with a 2-1 double-overtime win over Santa Clara in the finals. The Pilots went 20-4-2 last season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 8 seed.

The Pilots lost their former Director of Soccer Clive Charles, who passed away in August after a long fought battle with prostate cancer.

The Last Time Out
Nebraska defeated No. 14 Texas A&M 2-1 in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament to extend its eight-year winning streak in the opening game of the conference tournament.

The Huskers went on to face eighth-seeded Missouri, which eliminated Colorado in the first round, and fell 3-2, despite a comeback effort in the second half.

Freshman Brittany Timko played well, notching both goals against the Aggies on Thursday night. The first goal came on an outstanding shot from Jenna Cooper, who got behind the A&M defense and bounced her shot off the cross bar for Timko to put away. The Huskers held the 1-0 lead until there was two and a half minutes remaining and A&M’s Becky Olson knotted it up at 1-1. Timko struck again to give NU the win over the No. 5 seed a minute and 20 seconds into the first overtime period.

Against Missouri, the Huskers got down 3-0 in the second half, before making a late run to try and tie the game.

Cooper went on a tear, placing two corner kicks in perfect position to set up NU scoring plays. Freshman Ashley Tenn found the first ball to put the Huskers on the scoreboard and fellow freshman Jessie Bruch notched the second goal to narrow the margin to 3-2 with just over seven minutes remaining.

The Huskers put up a serious scoring threat for the remaining minutes, but could not convert.

Husker NCAA Tourney History
The Nebraska soccer team has set a high level of achievement in the NCAA Tournament over the last eight years. The Huskers have made it into each tournament over the last eight years and have advanced to the Sweet 16 each of the last seven seasons.

The first two years of the program were the only two years in school history NU did not make it to the national tournament. NU has played at home in six of the previous seasons.

Twice the Huskers have gone on to the Elite Eight in 1996 and 1999, and have accumulated an 11-6-1 record in NCAA Tournament games.

In 2002, the Huskers defeated Hartford and Yale in Villanova, Pa., before traveling to Santa Clara, where NU fell to the Broncos 3-2.

The Polls
Nebraska returned to the NSCAA Top 25 at No. 21 after defeating Texas A&M for the second time this season in the Big 12 Tournament. North Carolina remains No. 1 with a perfect 21-0-0 record and UCLA remained at the No. 2 spot for the second week in a row. Portland is fifth in the current NSCAA Poll, while Washington and Denver did not make this week’s top 25.

Colorado fell from No. 5 to No. 11 this week, after losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to Missouri. Texas A&M has gone from sixth two weeks ago to No. 23 in this week’s rankings.

Kansas jumped from No. 21 to 16th after winning one game in the Big 12 Tournament over Oklahoma, before falling to Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Texas fell out of the poll but is receiving votes along with Oklahoma State.

Big 12 Honorees
Junior Jenna Cooper was named to the All-Big 12 First Team and freshman Jessie Bruch was named to the All-Newcomer Team the conference office announced last week.

Cooper has posted 15 points on one goal and 13 assists this season and has led the Nebraska defense to a 1.51 goals-against average.

Bruch has played in the midfield and as a forward in her freshman season and was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer squad with 17 points on eight goals and one assist this season.

Colorado swept the all-conference honors. Fran Munnelly was named the player of the year, while freshman Katie Griffin was the rookie of the year and head coach Bill Hempen was named coach of the year.

Timko and Cooper Named to Big 12 All-Tournament Team
Freshman Brittany Timko was the difference-maker for the Huskers against Texas A&M in the opening game of the Big 12 Tournament, earning Big 12 All-Tournament Team honors. The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native scored both goals against the Aggies for the Huskers.

Junior Jenna Cooper dished out a tournament-high three assists, to be named to the all-tournament team at defender. The Louisville, Ky., native was critical to the Huskers' comeback effort against Missouri that fell short in a 3-2 loss. Cooper was named to the all-tournament team for the second consecutive year.

On the Timko's first goal, Cooper sent in solid shot that deflected off the cross bar and Timko was their to make sure it got into the net. Then in overtime, Timko made a breakaway move, and went one-on-one with goalkeeper Kati Jo Spisak to score the game-winning goal.

Timko took seven shots on the tournament and notched four points to tie for the tournament lead in points per game with two.

Cooper Lighting it Up
Jenna Cooper had an outstanding Big 12 Tournament for the second consecutive year. Cooper provided three assists in two games to boost her season total to 13.

The Louisville, Ky., native notched her first assist on a goal by Brittany Timko that could have been credited to her. Cooper made a move up the left side of the field and got free to take a long shot that just deflected off the cross bar and nearly fell in, when Timko came in to finish off the play and put the Huskers up 1-0.

Against Missouri, Cooper was a big part of the Husker comeback putting three corner kicks in a row in perfect position, with NU capitalizing on two of them to cut the Missouri lead to 3-2.

Karakusis Earns Academic Honor
Sophomore Pam Karakusis was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America District VII Second Team for her outstanding work in the classroom. The Littleton, Colo., native has posted a 3.869 grade-point average in Veterinary Science to earn district academic honors.Karakusis has played in 14 games this season and started 11 after suffering from an inner ear problem early this season. The midfielder has three points on one goal and one assist this season. She has taken 18 shots, including eight on goal.

Don’t I Know You
If the Huskers were to go on to face Portland in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Brittany Timko and Tanya Dennis would face fellow Canadian National Team member Christine Sinclair. The three of them played together in the Women’s World Cup, helping Canada post its first win WWC history. Canada made it to the third-place game where it lost to United States.

Timko is the only one who has rejoined her team on the field since the World Cup. Sinclair and Dennis are both redshirting during the 2003 season. Dennis was forced to redshirt when she suffered a concussion in the fifth game of the World Cup and has not made it back on the field for the Huskers.

Junior Leadership
The Huskers have had to turn to the junior class for the on-field leadership that they need. Nebraska’s lone senior Christy Harms had her season cut short against Mississippi State when she suffered a knee injury. Harms is still the center of the team from the sidelines, but the juniors have had to pick up the slack on the field.

Jenna Cooper, Lindsey Ingram and Brooke Bredenberg have done a stellar job recovering for the hobbled senior.

Between the three of them, the juniors have started 57 games this season, with Cooper and Ingram seeing ever kick off this year.

The trio has also combined for 31 points on the year, despite three of the four of them spending most of their time in the backfield. Cooper and Ingram have spent most of their time on the backline this season, while Bredenberg has played in goal.

Balanced Attack
Nebraska has been very balanced offensively, as six Huskers have posted double-digit points this season and 13 of the 20 Huskers have contributed at least one point. Freshmen Jessie Bruch took the team points lead with a goal against Missouri to give her 17 points on the season on eight goals and one assist. Ashley Carter and Jenna Cooper are tied at second with 15 points each, while Kari Hogan has posted 13 points and Nikki Baker has 11 points on the year.

Freshmen Phenoms
The Husker freshmen entered the season with something to prove. The youngsters were touted as the eighth-best recruiting class in Division I soccer according to Soccer America. They have lived up to their hype and more. Five of the seven NU freshmen have been on the field for the opening kickoff this season and together the five have made 50 starts.

Those numbers are pretty impressive, considering one of the top Husker freshmen has only been with Nebraska for nine games this season, because of her play on the Canadian National Team in the Women’s World Cup, and Tanya Dennis is redshirting.

Brittany Timko got her first start in a Husker uniform against Kansas, and has started the last six games.

The freshmen have combined for 45 of the Huskers’ 112 points on the season, or 40.1 percent of NU’s scoring.

Jessie Bruch leads the Huskers in scoring this season with 17 points each. Bruch has posted eight goals and one assist.

NU vs. Ranked Opponents
Nebraska’s second win against No. 14 Texas A&M was the Huskers’ third win this season over an opponent that was in the NSCAA Top 25 at game time. Before the regular-season win over the Aggies, the last time NU defeated a ranked opponent was against No. 18 Oklahoma on Oct. 10.

On the season, Nebraska is 3-3-0 against teams that are ranked in the top 25. The Huskers fell to No. 10 Duke and No. 1 North Carolina in the second week of the season and again to No. 6 Colorado.

Head Coach John Walker
In his 10th season at the helm of the Nebraska program, John Walker has accumulated staggering numbers, including a 171-42-8 record and a .792 winning percentage that ranks second among all Division I active coaches.

Walker led the Huskers to the NCAA postseason in 1996 and has finished in the top 15 nationally for the last seven seasons.

He has taken NU to the NCAA Sweet 16 in each of the last seven seasons, including two trips to the Elite Eight.

The Kingston, Ontario, native posted his best season in scarlet and cream in 1999, when the Huskers finished with a 22-1-2 final record. Under Walker, NU has won three Big 12 regular-season titles and five of the seven Big 12 Tournament championships.

Nationally Ranked
Jenna Cooper is among the top 10 athletes in the country in assists per game. Cooper is tied at eighth among Division I players in games, with 13 assists and 0.65 assists per game on the season.

Kari Hogan is also tied for second in the country in single-game assists with four assists against Iowa State on Sept. 26.

The Numbers
Nebraska is one of only four teams (and the only Big 12 team) to advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in each of the past seven seasons. Since the Big 12 was formed in 1996, the Huskers have claimed five of the seven conference tournament championships, winning in 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, and 2002. Nebraska also won regular-season titles in 1996, 1999 and 2000.

In eight seasons of Big 12 action, the Huskers have produced an overall conference record of 65-12-2, for a league-best winning percentage of .835.

Through the past six seasons, the Huskers have a combined record of 27-4-3 against the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences. Nebraska is 4-2-2 vs. the ACC, 9-0-1 vs. the Big Ten, 8-1 vs. the SEC, and 6-1 against the Pac-10.

Around the Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference leads the nation with eight of its 11 teams chosen to compete in the 22nd NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Championship.

Oklahoma State received the Big 12’s automatic bid after winning the Big 12 Soccer Tournament. The other seven Big 12 squads in the 64-team field are regular-season champion Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas A&M. Big 12 teams have made 29 NCAA Championship appearances including the eight this year, and have compiled a 22-20-1 record in the previous tournaments.

Prior to this year, four was the most Big 12 teams picked in a season for the NCAA Tournament in 1999 and 2001.

Missouri and Texas A&M will both host first and second rounds. MU will battle Eastern Illinois in the first round while Kansas will face Illinois State in Columbia, Mo. A&M will square off against SMU. Texas will play Mississippi in the first round at Florida. Oklahoma will compete against Tennessee in Knoxville while Oklahoma State plays Auburn at Florida State. Colorado faces BYU at Utah.