Huskers Return Home for Two Tough Matches

After going on the road for the first time this season, the NU soccer team returns home this weekend as the Huskers host Colorado at 4 p.m. on Friday and Kansas at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the Nebraska Soccer Field.

The Huskers face a stiff challenge as both teams have six wins this season and both squads have hopes for a Big 12 Conference title and a berth in the NCAA Tournament. History is on the Huskers' side, as Nebraska is 19-3-3 all-time against Colorado and Kansas, two of the top programs in the conference.

Nebraska is looking to rebound from just its second loss of the season as the Huskers split their opening league games last weekend. After defeating a one-loss Missouri team, 2-0, in Columbia last Friday, the Huskers dropped a 3-2 double-overtime contest to Iowa State.

Against the Cyclones, NU was just 52 seconds away from a regulation victory before a penalty kick goal forced overtime. In the second extra period, the Huskers were just 21 seconds from earning a tie, before Iowa State netted a goal to pick up a victory in its Big 12 opener, as the Cyclones enjoyed an off day on Friday due to the league's unbalanced schedule.

Although Nebraska was disappointed with the loss, there were bright spots from the weekend, including the victory over Missouri. The Huskers became just the second team to score a goal on the Tigers' home field this season and by virtue of NU's 2-0 win, MU was also handed its only shutout of the season.

The Missouri victory kept alive Nebraska's impressive streak of success in Big 12 openers. The Huskers are now 11-0 all-time in conference openers since the formation of the conference. Even more impressively, NU has posted seven shutouts in those 11 openers and has outscored its foes by a 39-5 margin.

By scoring four goals in two games last weekend, the Huskers also continued to be the lone Big 12 school to score a goal in every game this season. Nebraska has not been shut out in 15 consecutive games, the longest streak since the 2003 season (18 games).

On an individual note, senior BrittanyTimko recorded a goal in Friday's win and an assist on Sunday. By notching at least one point in each game over the weekend, Timko set a school record by scoring a point in 13 consecutive games. The previous record was 12 straight games by Kim Engesser.
  

Scouting Colorado (6-2-1, 1-1-0 Big 12)
Colorado is 6-2-1 on the season and 1-1-0 in the Big 12 Conference after defeating Oklahoma at home, 2-1, last Friday, before falling at Oklahoma State on Sunday by a 2-1 score. The Buffaloes finished in a tie for second in the Big 12 last season and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

CU is just 1-2-1 away from Boulder this season, but of those four games, three have come at top 25 teams. Colorado opened the season with a scoreless tie at No. 19 Vanderbilt and traveled to No. 21 BYU (L, 2-3) and No. 14 Utah (W, 2-1) the weekend of Sept. 8.

Colorado has outscored its opponents 20-9 this season and is led by a balanced offensive attack. The Buffs have scored 10 goals in both the first and second halves and 10 different players have found the back of the net at least once. Nikki Marshall leads the team with seven goals and 16 points. Her seven goals are tied with NU's Brittany Timko for second in the league, while her 16 points rank third.

In net, Lincoln native Kara Linder and Kirstin Radlinski have split time. Linder has seen action in eight games and has posted a 0.90 goals-against average, while posting two shutouts in nearly 600 minutes of action. Radlinski has played in five contests and boasts a 1.28 goals-against average.

Husker History vs. Colorado
Nebraska is 7-2-1 all-time against Colorado after the Huskers snapped a two-game losing streak to the Buffaloes with a 2-1 win in Boulder to open conference play last season. NU is 4-1 against CU in Lincoln, winning by a combined score of 19-4.

The last meeting was a 2-1 Husker victory at Colorado in 2005. The win kept alive Nebraska's perfect 10-0 record in Big 12 Conference openers. Colorado took a 1-0 lead into halftime, but Brittany Timko found Jessie Bruch for a pair of second-half goals off set plays to lift NU to the victory.

Scouting Kansas (6-3-0, 1-1-0 Big 12)
The 6-3-0 Kansas Jayhawks come to Lincoln this Sunday after splitting their first weekend of Big 12 play with a loss to Oklahoma State, followed by a win over Oklahoma.  KU has also posted wins over Furman, Saint Mary’s, Alabama, Duke and UCF, while falling to Cal and Pepperdine.

Like Colorado, the Jayhawks have fallen to tough opponents.  In fact, their loss to Big 12 leader Oklahoma State went into two overtimes with the final 1-0 score coming off an OSU goal in the 105th minute.

Kansas has made a habit of explosive offensive production in 2006, including five multi-goal games.  In fact, the Jayhawks have not yet lost to a team when scoring more than one goal in the contest.

Leading the KU scoring drive is both experience and fresh talent.  Senior defender Holly Gault and freshman midfielder Monica Dolinsky lead the Jayhawks in goals with four each, with Gault also boasting three assists on the year.  The 5-6 Spring Hill, Kan., native joins NU senior Brittany Timko on the 2006 Hermann Award Watch List.

Sophomore goalkeeper Julie Haney has been solid in the net for Colorado this season, earning a goals-against average of 1.19 behind 24 saves and three shutouts.

NU History vs. Kansas
Other than Texas A&M, Nebraska has not played any team more than the Kansas Jayhawks.  The Huskers have met KU on 15 previous occasions for a record of 12-1-2, while owning a 13-8-0 record over 21 matches against the Aggies.

Kansas’ lone win over Nebraska came in 2003 at the Abbott Sports Complex with the Jayhawks pulling out the slight 1-0 victory.  The last meeting between these two programs came in 2005 when they squared off at the Big 12 Tournament with the Huskers posting a 3-1 win behind goals from Brittany Timko, Jessie Bruch and Aysha Jamani to move to the second round.

Prior to that contest, the Huskers and Jayhawks had met during the 2005 regular season as well.  That contest ended in a scoreless tie after two overtimes could not decide a winner.  

Timko Sets School Record
Senior Brittany Timko added an 11th school record to her impressive resume last weekend. Timko added a goal on Friday against Missouri and an assist at Iowa State on Sunday to pick up a point in both games. Timko has recorded at least one point in 13 consecutive games, dating back to the final regular-season game of the 2005 season. With her assist against Iowa State, Timko broke Kim Engesser’s school record of 12 consecutive games with at least one point set during the 1997 campaign.

Huskers Continue Impressive Streak
Nebraska improved to a perfect 11-0 in Big 12 openers with a 2-0 shutout victory at Missouri last Friday. NU has posted seven shutouts in those 11 contests and has outscored its opponents by a whopping 39-5 margin, winning by an average of more than three goals per game.

The win marked the third consecutive season that the conference-opening victory came on the road. Nebraska is 7-0 in Big 12 openers on the road and has outscored the home team, 21-4.

Starting Fast
The 2006 Huskers have been a stellar first-half team. Through 10 games, NU has tallied 11 goals in the first half, while surrendering just four. Last week, the Huskers netted three first-half goals in two games. NU has also enjoyed an 87-37 advantage in shots in the opening period, while that margin shrinks to a 71-67 NU advantage in the second half. Nebraska has also won 35 corner kicks in the first period, while limiting opponents to 13.

Streaks Stay Alive
Even though Nebraska went 1-1 last week, the Huskers managed to keep several streaks alive. The 2-0 victory over Missouri marked the 11th consecutive victory in a Big 12 opener for NU, which has never lost its first league match in the Big 12 Conference.

The Huskers also scored two goals in both games last week to remain the lone conference team not to be shut out this season.

NU has scored at least one goal in 15 straight contests dating back to a 2-0 loss in the final regular-season game of 2005. The 15 straight games marks the longest streak since the 2003 team went 18 games without being shut out.

In contrast, the Huskers have shut out their opponents four times through the first 10 games.

On an individual note, senior Brittany Timko extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one point to a school-record 13 by totaling two points on Friday and one point on Sunday.

Timko Records 40th Career Assist
Senior Brittany Timko assisted on freshman Carly Peetz's goal against Iowa State on Sunday to mark the 40th assist of her career. She becomes just the third player in school history to record 40 career assists. Timko needs 10 more assists to tie Meghan Anderson's school record of 50. While that may seem like a tall task, 10 more assists would give Timko a total of 15 assists on the season, six fewer than she recorded last season.

NU Drops First Overtime Contest
The Nebraska soccer team has already played four overtime contests in the first eight games of the season, which is tied for the most overtime games in a single-season in school history. NU was 1-0-2 in overtime this season before suffering a double-overtime loss at Iowa State on Sunday. The overtime setback marked the first time the Huskers had lost an overtime match since losing to Texas on Oct. 16, 2005.

Timko Nears 40/40
Senior Brittany Timko produced one goal and one assist in two games last week. With her performance, Timko increased her career totals to 37 goals and 40 assists.

With three more goals, Timko will join Meghan Anderson (48 goals, 50 assists) as the only players in school history to record both 40 goals and 40 assists in a career. Timko would also join Anderson as the only players in the 11-year history of the Big 12 Conference to join the 40/40 club, as well as becoming just the 35th player in NCAA history and only the third player to play her entire career in the 21st century to reach the marks.

Super Saver
Sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Klages faced a barrage of shots last weekend. In fact, Klages made 16 saves in two games last weekend after making a total of 17 saves through the first eight games. Klages made seven saves in a shutout of Missouri and tied a career-high with nine saves at Iowa State.

Peetz, Powell Score First Goals
Freshmen Carly Peetz and Shay Powell both scored the first goals of their careers last weekend against Iowa State.  The two freshmen goals kept the Huskers in a hard-fought match with the Cyclones that ended in a 3-2 NU loss in double overtime.

Peetz, who has started every game in her Husker career, found the back of the net for the first time in grand fashion, using a sliding boot to one-time a free kick from senior Brittany Timko to give NU a 2-1 lead.

Although seeing limited minutes in her freshman campaign, Powell connected for the first goal of her career on a pass from senior Tanya Dennis.

With the goals from Peetz and Powell, 10 players have scored a goal for the Huskers in 2006. If one more player tallies a goal, Nebraska will match the 11 players who scored goals in the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons.

Timko Plays a Major Hand in Husker Offense
Since her sophomore season at NU in 2004, senior Brittany Timko has been a catalyst for the Husker offense.  Anyone who watches Nebraska play can see Timko's impact, while the statistics back up her pivotal role in the Huskers' goal-scoring ability.
The statistics of goals and assists measure a player's contribution to a team's scoring.  But, by looking at these two statistics in tandem and comparing them against the total number of goals in a season, one can calculate how often a player was involved in a team goal.  The formula for this percentage is as follows:

Goals + Assists/Team's Total Goals = Percentage of goals involving that player

From the start of the 2004 season to the present, Nebraska has scored 109 goals in games in which Timko has played.  In those games, she either found the back of the net herself or assisted on 72 of those goals (66 percent).  Statistically speaking, Timko has had a hand in slightly better than two out of every three Husker goals scored in the past three years.

Through Timko's nine games in 2006, she has garnered seven goals and five assists, making her involved in 12 of Nebraska's 21 goals (57 percent).

To put Timko's importance in perspective, 2005 National Player of the Year Christine Sinclair had a hand in 49 of Portland's 79 goals last season for a production percentage of 62 percent, nine percentage points lower than Timko's.
 

Timko Joins Husker Elite at 100-Point Mark
Senior Brittany Timko recorded six points in Nebraska's 3-2 win over North Texas on Sept. 8 to reach a total of 103 points in her career with the Huskers.  Timko is now one of just six players in NU history to ever reach 100 points or more.

The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native earned her six points on three goals against the Mean Green, earning her fourth career hat trick.  She is now one hat trick away from tying Kim Engesser for the school record of five.
 

Injury Update 
Nebraska has made it through the first six weeks of play relatively healthy after an unfortunate preseason that included four season-ending injuries.

Sophomore Lauren Isenhower was listed as a redshirt before the Huskers even reached training camp due to a knee injury she suffered while competing with Nebraska in Europe this past summer.  Junior Meghan Hungerford also suffered a season-ending injury before the season began as she fractured her ankle during summer camps.

Then came the loss of senior defender Abby Penas, who was expected to be a major contributor for the NU defense in her final season at Nebraska.  However, Penas suffered a knee injury in the Huskers' exhibition match with Louisville on Aug. 19, and is out for the rest of the season.

Freshman Jackie Walsh will likely apply for a medical hardship after undergoing foot surgery.

Two players who began the season injured have now recovered and seen game time.  Redshirt freshman Shannon Dickerson sat out the first week of the season with a leg injury before returning for Nebraska's 2-2 double overtime tie with Wisconsin Sept. 1.

Since then, sophomore Ali Lokanc has also returned to the lineup after rehabilitating a broken leg she suffered early in 2005.  Lokanc saw her first game action late in the first half against North Texas on Sept. 8 and has since saw consistent game time for the Huskers.

Corner Kickin'
Nebraska, which has historically enjoyed a tremendous advantage in corner kicks taken, is again out-cornering teams by a good margin.

In 10 games, the Huskers have earned 75 corner kicks to just 40 by their opponents, a testament to the endline work by both the NU offense and defense.  On Sept. 15 alone, Nebraska took a season-best 16 corners, which set a new Nebraska Soccer Field record.  The previous record of 15 was set against UAB on Aug. 28, 2005. 

Timko Lands on Watch List
Nebraska senior Brittany Timko earned her second nomination to the Hermann Watch List this season as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.  Timko is one of 25 nominees compiled by a panel of coaches from the NSCAA.

The Missouri Athletic Club’s Hermann Trophy honors the top male and female Division I college soccer players in the United States. The award represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport. Over the years, the award has honored some of the biggest names in U.S. soccer. Kristine Lilly, Mia Hamm, Shannon MacMillan, Claudio Reyna, Alexi Lalas and Tony Meola are just a few of the players who won the award prior to achieving success on the international stage.

An NSCAA All-American, Timko earned her first nomination as a junior in 2005 and went on to finish among 15 semifinalists for the award.  A list of this year’s 15 Hermann Award semifinalists will be released in early November, with three finalists chosen later that month.  The finalists will be invited to St. Louis, Mo., on Dec. 2 for the announcement of the winner, as selected through voting by the members of the NSCAA, at the NCAA Men’s College Cup.  The winner will receive the prestigious crystal soccer ball trophy later that evening.

Big Time in the Big 12
Since joining the conference in 1996, the Nebraska soccer program has always been considered one of the teams to beat in the Big 12.  Over the last 12 seasons, the Huskers have laid claim to eight Big 12 titles and five Big 12 Tournament championships.  Only Texas A&M, which matched the Huskers with its eighth Big 12 title in 2005, has earned a comparable level of success in the league.

Apart from its postseason success, Nebraska also owns a number of Big 12 team season records including most shots (656 in 2000), points (316 in 1999), goals (108 in 1999), goals per game (4.32 in 1999), assists (108 in 2000) and shutouts (16 in 2000).

Individually, Nebraska also reigns supreme, capturing a league-best 39 first-team All-Big 12 picks to Texas A&M's 28.  Recently, NU senior Brittany Timko also joined the Big 12 record books as she notched a conference-record 21 assists in 2005 to topple the previous record of 17, which was set in 2003 by Oklahoma State's Nikki Wojtowicz.

NCAA Tournament Titans
For the Nebraska soccer program, the NCAA tournament isn't a goal, it's a tradition.  The Huskers have been a staple in collegiate women's soccer's biggest competition for the past 10 consecutive seasons, including eight runs into the Sweet 16 and two into the Elite Eight.

NU's success, coupled with the enthusiasm and support of the Lincoln community and Husker soccer fans, have made Nebraska one of the NCAA's favorite postseason tournament sites.  Lincoln has been host to opening-round action on seven occassions from 1996 to 2005.  Even when the Huskers made the move to the Nebraska Soccer Field in 2005, the trend continued as the venue was once again chosen to host the opening round between Nebraska, Creighton, Iowa State and eventual national champion Portland.