Timko Earns Three-Peat as Big 12 Player of the Year

Senior Brittany Timko became the first player in league history to earn three consecutive Big 12 Soccer Player-of-the-Year honors when the conference announced her as co-winner of the 2006 accolade on Monday.  Timko shares the award with OklahomaState’s Yolanda Odenyo.

 

In addition to becoming the first player to receive three nods in the history of Big 12 soccer, Timko also joined an elite group of athletes in any sport to ever welcome such an honor.  She joins Texas’ Cat Ostermann (Softball) and Sarah Wanezek (Swimming), Oklahoma State’s Maria Boden (Golf) and Baylor’s Benedikt Dorsch (Tennis) as the only five athletes in Big 12 history to notch three or more player-of-the-year awards in their career.

 

Timko was also a first-team All-Big 12 selection for the third consecutive season, while senior Tanya Dennis and sophomore Aysha Jamani both earned repeat nominations with selections to the All-Big 12 second team.  Dennis earned her first Big 12 award as a first-team selection in 2004.  Jamani earned her place on the second-team last season.  Freshman Carly Peetz rounded out the Husker honorees, representing Nebraska as an All-Newcomer selection.

 

Heading into Wednesday’s first round of the Big 12 Championship, Timko leads Nebraska in points (29), goals (11) and assists (7), as well as in shots on goal (28).  Timko's 29 points also rank second in the Big 12.

 

The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native has reached a number of plateaus on the year, including topping the 100-point mark for her career in Nebraska's 3-2 win over North Texas on Sept. 8.  Timko produced the fourth hat trick of her career in the contest to pull within one hat trick of tying the program record of five hat tricks set by Kim Engesser.

 

An offensive specialist, Timko has been involved with either a goal or an assist on 17 of 26 goals the Huskers have produced with Timko in the lineup.  The 5-7 forward earned another NU program record against IowaState on Sept. 24 as she recorded an assist on a goal from freshman Carly Peetz.  With the point, Timko had scored at least one point in 13 consecutive games, which topped the previous consecutive games with a point record of 12 set by Kim Engesser in 1997.  Timko's streak ended at 14 games on Oct. 1 against Kansas as the Huskers were held scoreless for the first time in 16 games.

 

In her career at Nebraska, Timko has notched single-season records for assists (21) and game-winning assists (8), as well as holding career records for game-winning assists (17).  She is chasing records for career assists, multi-assist games and hat tricks, ranking either second or third in each category.

 

With her 11 goals and seven assists this season, Timko has 41 goals and 42 assists in her career.  With 40 goals and 40 assists, Timko joined Meghan Anderson as the only players in Big 12 history to accomplish the feat.  They are also two of just 35 players in NCAA history to achieve the marks.

 

Dennis anchors the Nebraska defense as a central defender in 2006.  During the regular season, Dennis and the NU defense allowed just 89 shots on goal and 23 opponent goals.  Thanks in large part to Dennis' work, NU opponents average just over one goal per game and only 12.5 shots per contest.  Dennis also has a pair of assists on the season.

 

 

In her second season at Nebraska, Jamani, a Calgery, Alberta, native, has tallied four goals and four assists for 12 points, which ranks second on the team behind Timko.  Jamani has put a lot of work into her goals this season, taking a team-best 63 shots, including the 100th shot of her career against Baylor on Oct. 6. Although she has proven her scoring ability with four goals in 18 games this year, she has increased her creativity by notching four assists as well, including two that resulted in game-winning goals.

 

A native of Lincoln, Peetz has seen more time on the pitch than nearly any Husker and with great success.  Peetz has started in every game this year and played every minute of Nebraska's first six contests.  Peetz has also played both sides of the pitch and is the only NU player to earn a start as both a defender and a forward.  Peetz’s offensive talent has paid off for the Huskers, with both a goal and an assist on the season.

 

Nikki Marshall of Colorado was named to the Big 12 Rookie of the Year, while Oklahoma State Head Coach Karen Hancock was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year.

 

Nebraska will be seeking its sixth Big 12 Championship title this week in San Antonio, Texas. The Huskers open the tournament against Texas at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

 

Co-Players of the Year: Brittany Timko, Nebraska and Yolanda Odenyo, OklahomaState

Rookie of the Year: NikkiMarshall, Colorado

Coach of the Year: Karen Hancock, OklahomaState

 

ALL-BIG 12 FIRST TEAM

GK -- Ashley Holder, Baylor, Jr, Roseville, Calif.

D -- Kasey Moore, Texas, So, Mission Viejo, Calif.

D -- Stephanie Logterman, Texas, So, Austin, Texas

D -- Emily Peterson, Texas A&M, So, Tulsa, Okla.

MF -- Yolanda Odenyo, OklahomaState, Jr, Uppsala, Sweden

MF -- Carrie Schmit, Texas, Sr, La Mesa, Calif.

MF -- Amy Berend, Texas A&M, Jr, Highland Village, Texas

F -- NikkiMarshall, Colorado, Fr, Mead, Colo.

F -- Brittany Timko, Nebraska, Sr, Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada

F -- Kelsey Carpenter, Texas, Texas, Jr, Allen, Texas

F -- Suzzette Devloo, Texas A&M, Sr, Houston, Texas

 

ALL-BIG 12 SECOND TEAM**

GK -- Dianna Pfenninger, Texas, So, Sugar Land, Texas

GK -- Kristin Arnold, Texas A&M, Fr, Centennial, Colo.

D -- Laura Munnelly, Colorado, Sr, Arvada, Colo.

D -- Jenny Murtaugh, Kansas, So, Littleton, Colo.

D -- Tanya Dennis, Nebraska, Jr, Brampton, Ontario, Canada

MF -- Missy Geha, Kansas, So, Overland Park, Kan.

MF -- Jessica Bush, Kansas, So, Blue Springs, Kan.

MF -- Amy Burlingham, Texas, Sr, Costa Mesa, Calif.

MF -- Paige Carmichael, Texas A&M, Jr, Glendale, Ariz.

MF -- Allison Martino, Texas A&M, Jr, Draper, Utah

F -- Holly Gault, Kansas, Sr, Spring Hill, Kan.

F -- Aysha Jamani, Nebraska, So, Calgery, Alberta, Canada

F -- Ashlee Pistorius, Texas A&M, Texas A&M, Jr, Bloomington, Ill.

**Ties in Voting

 

BIG 12 ALL-Newcomer Team

GK -- Kristin Arnold, Texas A&M, Fr, Centennial, Colo.

D -- Estelle Johnson, Kansas, Fr, Fort Collins, Colo.

D -- Carly Peetz, Nebraska, Fr, Lincoln, Neb.

D -- Bridget Miller, Oklahoma State, Fr, Wylie, Texas

D -- Nicole Ketchum, Texas A&M, Fr, Cypress, Texas

MF -- Jess Quador, Colorado, Fr, Littleton, Colo.

MF -- Siera Strawser, Oklahoma State, Fr, Bixby, Okla.

MF -- Amber Gnatzig, Texas A&M, Fr, Humble, Texas

F -- NikkiMarshall, Colorado, Fr, Mead, Colo.

F -- Monica Dolinsky, Kansas Fr, Carmel, Ind.

F -- Brittney Harrison, Texas Tech, Fr, Plano, Texas