Huskers Continue Winning Tradition in 2005

The 2005 Nebraska soccer season marked the beginning of a new era in Husker soccer, as Nebraska played its home games on campus for the first time in the 12-year history of the program. Although the venue was new, the results for the 2005 Huskers were what NU fans have grown accustomed to--winning.

Nebraska finished the season 14-8-1, continuing a streak of posting at least 10 victories every season in the history of the program. The Huskers also advanced to their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament and posted a victory in the tournament for the 10th consecutive season. Nebraska was also selected to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in school history.

NU went 6-3-1 in the Big 12 Conference to finish in a tie for second place and advanced to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament before falling to eventual champion Texas A&M.

Junior forward Brittany Timko repeated as the Big 12 Player of the Year, joining former Husker Christine Latham as the only players in league history to earn more than one player-of-the-year honor. Senior Sasha Andrews earned her second consecutive All-Big 12 first-team award, while freshman Aysha Jamani was a second-team All-Big 12 pick, as well as a selection to the All-Big 12 Newcomer squad.

The Huskers also rewrote the NU record book in 2005. Timko became the first player in the history of the Big 12 Conference to record 20 assists in a single season. She broke the NU and conference single-season assist record, while also breaking Nebraska’s single-season and career game-winning assist records.

Head Coach John Walker reached a milestone of his own in 2005, earning his 200th career victory in Nebraska’s 1-0 shutout over in-state rival Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Nebraska Soccer Field. Walker finished the season with a career record of 200-60-9 and became one of only 22 coaches in the history of Division I women’s soccer to reach the 200-win mark, accomplishing the feat in only 12 seasons.

The Huskers enjoyed national exposure with three games broadcast live on national television. Two home matches were carried live locally on NET2 and simulcast live nationally by CSTV, marking the only two women’s soccer regular-season games to appear live on CSTV. Nebraska’s Big 12 Tournament semifinal match with Texas A&M was also televised live on Fox Sports Net.

The passion and intensity that are synonymous with Nebraska soccer were again the defining aspects of the Huskers in 2005. NU was hampered by season-ending injuries to defensive starters Aly Scace, Sari Raber and Ali Lokanc, as well as goalkeeper Katie Wright and forwards Lindsay Poehling and Brigid Kenny. The injuries forced several position changes, as forward Nikki Baker was moved to the back after scoring two goals in the first two games.

While the injuries forced NU to alter its initial plans and led to concern about a lack of depth, the Huskers’ freshman class emerged to fill in the holes. Six freshmen earned starts in a talented lineup and by the end of the season, four were regular starters. The youth movement may have played a bigger role in the Huskers’ fortunes in 2005 than expected, but the play of the newcomers was a bright spot in a successful season. The talented young players also give the Huskers plenty of reasons for optimism in 2006.

Nebraska opened its new home and the regular season against Minnesota on Aug. 26. The game against the Gophers and the Huskers’ next match against UAB were dominant victories that capped a strong opening weekend. Against Minnesota, Baker scored just 12:11 into the game and freshman Lauren Isenhower added the first goal of her career in the 30th minute. Minnesota cut the lead to 2-1 at halftime before junior Tanya Dennis gave NU added cushion with a goal in the 79th minute.

The Huskers capped their excellent opening weekend with an outstanding performance in a 4-0 victory over UAB, a team that advanced to the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. NU outshot UAB, 27-4, and Husker fans got a first-hand glimpse of the excitement Jamani brings to the game, as she scored two first-half goals in helping the Huskers build a 3-0 lead at the half. Timko added her first goal of the season to go along with two assists. Baker capped the scoring in the 54th minute with her final goal of the season in one of her final starts at the forward position. Freshman goalkeeper Jamie Klages earned a shutout in her first career start, recording two saves.

Nebraska headed on the road for the first time the following weekend, returning to Champaign, Ill., for a match with an Illinois team that ended the Huskers’ 2004 season with a dramatic 2-1 victory in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The two teams played a scoreless first half, before the Illini scored in the 61st minute and held on for a 1-0 win.

The Huskers returned home for a three-game week and proved they had the ability to come from behind, posting two comeback victories. Nebraska opened the week with a match against San Diego State. Jamani scored the game’s first goal at 29:09 and the game remained 1-0 at the half. SDSU scored for a pair of goals in the 63rd and 66th minute to take a 2-1 lead. NU applied intense pressure and tied the game on a goal from Timko at 82:57, before winning the game on a goal from Andrews 1:56 later. Following the satisfaction of completing a successful comeback, the Huskers recorded twice as many shots as Colorado College, but fell 1-0 to the Tigers.

Nebraska looked to bounce back against Rice, but fell behind early when the Owls took a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute. NU came storming back when Timko found Andrews on a pair of set plays in the 34th and 44th minute to give the Huskers a 2-1 advantage at the break. Freshman Selenia Iacchelli added the first goal of her career in the 52nd minute to secure the victory.

The Huskers traveled to Big Ten country again the following weekend when they traveled to Purdue. Unlike its games from the past week, NU took an early 1-0 lead in the 17th minute on a goal from Jamani. But Purdue responded with a pair of first-half goals and held on late for a 2-1 win.

In its final tune-up before Big 12 play, the Huskers erased a 1-0 deficit to defeat UC Irvine 2-1. A goal just 2:05 into the contest gave the Anteaters the early lead, but Iacchelli tied the game in the eighth minute and Timko provided the game-winning goal in the 12th minute. Seeking to keep its perfect record in Big 12 openers, the Huskers had a difficult task, traveling to Colorado to begin the league season. Despite several quality scoring chances, Colorado scored the games’ first goal in the 37th minute. Trailing 1-0 at half, a Timko corner kick and free kick each found the head of sophomore Jessie Bruch for goals in the 50th and 82nd minute to lift the Huskers to the victory.

NU stayed unbeaten in the conference with a tie and a victory at the Nebraska Soccer Field the following weekend. Klages was brilliant in goal, stopping nine shots as the Huskers’ played Kansas to a scoreless tie. Klages made several spectacular saves to start a three-game shutout streak in league play. Nebraska appeared on national television for its next match and dominated Missouri in a 3-0 victory. Jamani scored a pair of first-half goals and Iacchelli added a second-half score as the two freshmen accounted for all three goals, while Klages, another freshman, made six saves in posting the shutout.

The Huskers remained unbeaten in Big 12 play with a 1-0 win over Baylor, before suffering their first league loss at Texas A&M. Against BU, Klages and Andrews assisted on a goal from Bruch in the 68th minute and NU held on for a 1-0 victory.

After the loss to the Aggies, NU was anxious for its next match and dominated 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifier Oral Roberts on the road, 6-0. The six goals were a season high and were also the most road goals for NU since a 10-goal performance at Oklahoma State in 1999. Sophomore forward Meghan Hungerford scored the first two goals of her career in the win, as five different Huskers found the back of the net. Timko added a goal and three assists, while Klages picked up her fourth shutout in five games.

Returning to conference play, NU dropped a tough 1-0 overtime decision at Texas on Oct. 16. In an evenly played game, a cross from Kelsey Carpenter slipped past Klages in the 97th minute to give the Longhorns the victory.

Nebraska put itself in control of the race for the regular-season title the following weekend with a pair of victories over Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. Against the Sooners, the Huskers again found themselves on national television. Timko scored a goal in the 12th minute, but OU got a late goal in the 43rd minute to tie the game at the half. Timko added her second goal of the game in the 79th minute. Two days later, NU twice held a two-goal lead before hanging on to defeat the Cowgirls, 3-2. Bruch, Iacchelli and Andrews all scored goals off assists from Timko. Nebraska led 1-0 at the half, before Iacchelli scored in the 54th minute to make it 2-0. OSU got on the board in the 65th minute, before Andrews’ goal in the 73rd minute appeared to secure the victory. Oklahoma State scored a goal in the 86th minute, but was unable to mount a serious scoring threat over the final four minutes as the Huskers held on for the win.

The win over Oklahoma State put NU in prime position for the Big 12 title. Nebraska needed to win its final two games to clinch at least a share of the regular-season crown. The Huskers’ hopes for a championship were dashed in a 2-0 loss to Iowa State at home. NU outshot ISU 26-11 and had two shots hit the post and two more cleared off the endline by Cyclone defenders in a frustrating game. Nebraska quickly rebounded with a 4-1 win at Texas Tech to close out the regular season. Timko tallied three goals in the win for her third career hat trick.

Nebraska opened postseason play against Kansas in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Huskers put together a superb game and took a 2-0 halftime lead en route to a 3-1 win. Jamani, Bruch and Timko each scored goals for NU. In the semifinals, the Huskers earned a rematch with Texas A&M and played with great intensity, but three second-half goals - including two in the final nine minutes - propelled the Aggies to a 4-2 victory. Bruch scored both goals to produce her second multi-goal effort of the season. The game was televised live by Fox Sports Net.

The Huskers drew in-state rival Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Nebraska Soccer Field. Nebraska dominated the match, but produced only one goal. Timko scored off a free kick in the second half to give NU the margin it needed, but several other scoring chances that just missed, including four shots that hit the post, forced the Huskers to play their starters for the entire game.

In the second round, NU pushed top-ranked and eventual national champion Portland, but was unable to pull off the upset. Freshman Jessie Goodell scored the first goal of her career to tie the game at 1-1 midway through the first period, but defensive miscues cost NU twice late in the half, including a Pilot goal with just six seconds remaining in the period. Trailing 3-1 at half, Bruch scored a goal in the 68th minute to cut the lead in half. Despite becoming the only team all season to score more than one goal on Portland, the Huskers were unable to find the back of the net and ended their season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

While Nebraska’s season was a success on the field, the Huskers succeeded off the field, as well. Four players earned academic All-Big 12 accolades, highlighted by senior Katie Bunkers, who earned first-team honors for the third consecutive season. Bunkers was also named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VII second team.

Although the Huskers’ season ended sooner than the players and coaches would have liked, NU still accomplished plenty in the program’s 12th season. Below is a list of the 2005 Husker accomplishments:

• Advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive year.
• Won a game in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th consecutive year.
• Gave Head Coach John Walker his 200th career victory.
• Won at least 13 games for the 10th straight season.
• Saw Brittany Timko repeat as the Big 12 Player of the Year.
• Earned three Big 12 Player-of-the-Week awards.
• Placed two players on the All-Big 12 first team.
• Placed one player on the second-team All-Big 12 team and All-Big 12 Newcomer squad.
• Placed four players on the academic All-Big 12 first- and second-teams.
• Saw Timko named a semifinalist for the Hermann Award for the second consecutive year.
• Broke three school records (Timko, single-season and career game-winning assists, single-season assists).
• Broke one Big 12 Record (Timko, single-season assists).
• Saw Timko record more than 40 points for the second consecutive season.
• Saw Timko lead the team in both goals and assists for the second consecutive season, the only player in school history to accomplish that feat.
• Won the Big 12 opener for the 10th consecutive season.
• Saw Jamie Klages set the freshman record for most saves in a season.
• Appeared on national television three times.
• Improved the program’s all-time record to 158-2-2 when leading at the half, finishing 11-0-0 in 2005.
• Improved the program’s all-time record to 184-9-0 when scoring more than one goal, finishing 12-2-0 in 2005.
• Posted a 9-3-1 record in its first season at the Nebraska Soccer Field