Nebraska Hopes to Continue Winning Ways

After playing five games in 10 days, the Nebraska soccer team gets a bit of a midseason break this week. The Huskers travel to Columbia, Mo., on Friday for a 7 p.m. contest with the Missouri Tigers in their only game of the week.

Missouri (4-5-1, 1-1 Big 12) split a pair of games last weekend. The Tigers opened Big 12 Conference play by defeating Oklahoma, 2-1, in overtime. MU, the defending Big 12 Tournament champions, then dropped a 3-1 decision at Oklahoma State.

Nebraska enters Friday's game riding a season-best five-game winning streak. The Huskers have not lost since dropping a 1-0 decision to 20th-ranked Stanford on Sept. 12. Since the loss to the Cardinal, NU has outscored its opponents 16-4 while averaging more than three goals a game, and surrendering just under one goal per contest.

The Huskers had their busiest week of the season last week, playing three games, including opening the Big 12 portion of the schedule. Nebraska faced in-state rival Creighton on Sept. 21 and came from behind for a 3-2 victory in its first road game of the year.

Nebraska then faced Big 12 competition for the first time in 2004, heading to eighth-ranked Kansas. Sophomore Brittany Timko scored just 57 seconds into the game and the Husker defense played strong to preserve the 1-0 upset win.

Iowa State was the Huskers' next opponent. Timko tied a school record for goals in a half with three as Nebraska jumped out to a 3-0 lead at halftime. Timko also broke a school record by scoring two goals just 16 seconds apart. The Cyclones answered with two goals in the second half and had a chance to tie the game on a penalty kick, but were unable to convert as the kick bounced off the crossbar.

For her efforts last week, Timko was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week. It was her third such honor of the season, making her the first Husker to ever earn three player-of-the-week honors in a single season.

For the weekend, Nebraska outshot its opponents 42-39, but found the back of the net seven times on the week, while NU's three opponents scored only four times.

Scouting Missouri (4-5-1)
Missouri went 1-1 last weekend as it opened Big 12 Conference play. The Tigers defeated Oklahoma, 2-1, in overtime, but lost 3-1 at Oklahoma State two days later.

MU's offense is ranked 10th in the league in goals, averaging 1.20 goals per game. Jennifer Nobis is the Tigers' top offensive threat. She leads the team with five goals and ranks third in the Big 12 with 35 shots.

In net, Laura Buehrig has allowed 1.53 goals per game in 2004. She ranks fourth in the league with 41 saves and has recorded one shutout.

Last Time We Met
Missouri, which is 1-11 all-time against Nebraska, notched its first victory of the Huskers in the last meeting between the teams.

In the semifinals of the 2003 Big 12 Tournament, MU scored two goals in the first half and added a goal in the 57th minute to take a 3-0 lead over the Huskers.

Nebraska fought back on goals by Ashley Tenn in the 59th minute and Jessie Bruch at 82:11, but was unable to tie the game, as Missouri won 2-1 on its way to the Big 12 Tournament championship.

Nebraska outshot the Tigers, 19-16, and posted 11 corner kicks to only four by the Tigers, but Missouri made the most of its chances.

No member of the 2004 Huskers recorded a goal or an assist in that game, but senior Brooke Bredenberg made three saves in her last game in goal before sophomore Katie Wright, NU's current starting goalkeeper, took over in net.

Last Week
Nebraska went 3-0 last week to extend its season-best winning streak to five straight games. The Huskers opened the week by playing their first road game of the season against Creighton on Sept. 21.

Senior Lindsey Ingram scored at 5:45 to give Nebraska an early 1-0 lead. The Bluejays answered with a goal 18:04 later to tie the game 1-1 at the half.

Just as it had in the first meeting between the teams, the Huskers would need a second-half comeback to defeat the Bluejays. Creighton used a corner kick to set up Kristine Willrett's second goal of the game with 23:18 remaining.

Nebraska answered right back with two goals in a span of 2:24 to post a 3-2 victory. Junior Vern Fitzgerald fed sophomore Brittany Timko for the equalizer at 69:34 before Timko fed junior Sasha Andrews for the game winner at 71:56. Andrews’ goal was her first goal as a Husker.

NU then opened Big 12 Conference play at eighth-ranked Kansas on Sept. 24. Sophomore Brittany Timko notched the Huskers' second-fastest goal of the year, scoring just 57 seconds into the game. Behind a terrific effort by the Nebraska defense and sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wright, Timko's goal held up as NU earned the 1-0 victory.

For the game, Wright made five saves while posting her fourth shutout of the season.

Looking for a perfect 3-0 week, Nebraska headed to Ames, Iowa, on Sept. 26 for a match with the Iowa State Cyclones.

It was Timko again providing the offense for NU, scoring three first-half goals in a 2:26 span to put Nebraska up 3-0 at the half.

Timko set a school record by scoring back-to-back goals just 16 seconds apart and tied a school record by totaling three goals in the first half.

Iowa State came back in the second half, using a Kate Kirwan goal in the 56th minute and a Brittanie Waddell goal in the 87th minute to close within 3-2.

The Cyclones then drew a penalty kick, but Deb Benakis' attempt bounced off the crossbar, allowing Nebraska to escape with a 3-2 win.

Scoring Streak
Sophomore Brittany Timko has been on an incredible run over her last five games. The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native has scored nine goals and notched five assists during the Huskers’ season-best five-game winning streak. She has scored at least one goal in each of the last five games, including two hat tricks.

Timko got the streak started in grand fashion, scoring three goals and adding three assists against Northern Colorado on Sept. 17. Two days later against Montana, Timko produced another goal and an assist.

Against in-state rival Creighton on Sept. 21, Timko notched another goal and an assist in the Huskers’ 3-2 win. In the Big 12 Conference opener against Kansas, Timko scored the only goal of the game and followed that performance by scoring three goals against Iowa State on Sept. 26.

Timko has had a hand in Nebraska’s last six goals, dating back to Creighton on Sept. 21. She scored the game-tying goal against the Bluejays, then added the game-winning assist. She then scored the game-winning goal in Nebraska’s 1-0 upset win over eighth-ranked Kansas on Sept. 24 before scoring all three of the Huskers’ goals in a 3-2 win over Iowa State.

Timko leads the Big 12 with 12 goals and 33 points, and is second in the conference with nine assists through 11 games.

NCAA Rankings
In the latest NCAA statistical rankings, released Sept. 26, sophomore Brittany Timko finds herself atop the nation in two different categories.

Timko leads the nation with 12 goals and is tied for first with a 3.00 points per game average. The Coquitlam, B.C., native also cracked the top 10 in assists, where she is eighth with nine assists, assists per game, where she ranks 10th with a 0.82 average and goals per game, where she sits in 10th place with a 1.09 average.

Timko also ranks fourth in the country for most assists in a game. Timko had three against Northern Colorado and also against Eastern Illinois. She also ranks fourth in points in a single game with nine, coming against Northern Colorado.

Huskers vs. Ranked Foes
Nebraska has faced three ranked team in 2004, dropping a season-opening heartbreaker to the defending national champion and top-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, 1-0 on Aug. 27. Nebraska also lost a 1-0 decision to Stanford, which was unranked at game time but is currently ranked 20th.

When the Huskers defeated eighth-ranked Kansas on Friday, they broke a two-game losing streak against top 25 teams.

Nebraska owns a 32-28-3 (.532) all-time record against ranked opponents.

Players of the Week
Sophomore Brittany Timko was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for a third time this season on Tuesday.

Timko was honored after scoring five goals, including two game winners, adding a game-winning assist and totaling 11 points in the Huskers' three games last week.

Timko also earned player-of-the-week honors for the week of Sept. 21, and is the first player in school history to earn three player-of-the-week awards in the same season.

Timko and sophomore goalkeepr each earned Big 12 Player-of-the-Week honors for the week of Sept. 7. Timko was named the offensive player of the week and Wright was named the defensive player of the week.

Timko is also the only player in the nation to be named to Soccer America's National Team of the Week twice this season. She was named to the team in each of the weeks she was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week.

Records Watch
Sophomore Brittany Timko is off to a stellar start in 2004 with 12 goals, nine assists and 33 points through 11 games. At her current pace, Timko could challenge several of Nebraska's single-season records.

Projecting her totals through the regular season and one Big 12 Tournament game, Timko is on pace to finish with 60 points, which wound rank her second on the NU single-season chart.

On pace to score 21 goals, Timko would finish in a tie for fourth place in school history for goals in a season.

Perhaps most impressive is the number of assists Timko has racked up. The Coquitlam, B.C., native has nine assists this season and is already just two away from entering the single-season top-10 list.

If she can maintain here average of nearly one assist per game, Timko would finish with at least 20 assists, which would break the single-season school record by three.

Timko has also recorded three game-winnings assists this season and is just two shy of moving into the top spot in that category. She also has posted three game-winning goals, just two away from entering the top 10 and five shy of the record.

Big 12 Rankings
The Nebraska soccer team leads the Big 12 Conference with 202 shots and 83 corner kicks and ranks in the top three in four other categories.

As a team, Nebraska ranks second in goals scored with 28, second in total points with 75, third in goals per game with a 2.55 average and third in shutouts with four.

From an individual standpoint, sophomore Brittany Timko leads the league in points (33), goals (12), shots (50), shots per game (4.55), points per game (3.00) and goals per game (1.09) and ranks second in assists (nine), game-winning goals (three) and assists per game (0.82).

Junior Nikki Baker ranks seventh in goals (five) and eighth in shots (26), while senior Lindsey Ingram ranks fifth in assists (four) and 10th in assists per game (0.36) .

Sophomore goalkeeper Katie Wright ranks in the top five of every goalkeeping category. The Mission Viejo, Calif., native ranks third in saves (44) and shutouts per game (0.36) third in shutouts (four), fourth in save percentage (.800) and fifth in goals-against average (1.00).

In the Polls
The Huskers are ranked for the first time this season in the latest NSCAA/adidas top 25 poll, entering the poll at No. 23. North Carolina, which defeated the Huskers 1-0 on Aug. 27, is ranked second. Kansas, which Nebraska defeated 1-0 on Sept. 24, is No. 12. Stanford, which defeated the Huskers 1-0, is 16th.

Nebraska has been ranked in the final NSCAA/adidas poll for each of the last eight seasons.

Up Next
Following Nebraska's game at Missouri this Friday, the Huskers will return home for an important two-game stretch.
Nebraska hosts Texas at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8, before hosting Texas A&M, which leads the Big 12 Conference with a 3-0 record, on Sunday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m.

Head Coach John Walker Nebraska
Head Coach John Walker is in his 11th year as coach of the Huskers. Since starting the program in 1994, Walker has posted an impressive 180-46-8 record, recording his 175th career victory in a 3-0 win over Purdue on Sept. 5.

His .786 winning percentage is fourth among all Division I active coaches and his 180 victories rank 26th among active coaches.
Walker’s teams have won at least one game in the NCAA Tournament for eight consecutive seasons and have finished the season in the NSCAA/adidas top 25 poll in each of the last eight seasons.

Under Walker, the Huskers have become a perennial power. He has led the team to three Big 12 regular-season titles and five Big 12 Tournament titles since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, including a sweep of both titles in 1999 and 2000.The Streak
The 2004 Nebraska soccer team is looking to continue an impressive streak that began in 1996.

In every season since 1996 - a streak totaling eight seasons - the Huskers have not only made an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but have won at least one game to advance to the second round. The 2004 Huskers are looking to make it nine straight this season.

Home Sweet Home
Nebraska, which is set to play a school-record 13 home games this season, recently concluded a season-opening eight-game homestand.

The Huskers have only six road games scheduled before the Big 12 Tournament. Nebraska will play its fourth road game against Missouri on Friday, before returning home for a four-game homestand Oct. 8-17.

On the Air
All of Nebraska’s home games in 2004 will be carried by KRNU and will be available on Huskers.com. The next broadcast is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 8, when Nebraska faces Texas at 7 p.m. at the Abbott Sports Complex.