Huskers Drop 2-1 Decision to Defending NCAA Champs

Chapel Hill, N.C. ? Sophomore Katie Bunkers posted the Huskers’ lone goal in a 2-1 loss to defending national champion North Carolina in Nebraska’s second spring soccer game Sunday afternoon in Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Carolina’s Anne Morrell scored the Tar Heels’ first and last goals to give them the win, but Nebraska dictated play for a large part of the contest.

Bunkers tied the game with a goal off of a corner kick with assists by Kari Hogan and Brittany Timko. While Bunkers was the only Husker to capitalize on a scoring opportunity, Nebraska had nearly a dozen quality scoring chances in the contest, including a shot by Timko in the first half that just sailed over the net.

"It was a well fought game," assistant coach Marty Everding said. "From a competing standpoint, we are very happy. We had a lot of good individual performances. This North Carolina team is pretty much the same team we will play in September, so it was a good measuring stick for us."

The Huskers spent much more time on the offensive side of the field than they did in the fall contest, posting between six and eight corner kicks, while North Carolina only got three or four.

"Jessie Bruch and Lindsey Ingram played well in the midfield and Vern Fitzgerald did well when she subbed in," Everding said. "We also had good pressure from our forwards. The two goals were preventable and we will just continue to work on those things."

The Huskers will travel to California this week to continue the spring season, facing UCLA on Thursday and Southern California on Friday.