Timko Leads Huskers to Come-From-Behind Win

<?xml:namespace prefix="st1" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags"?>Lincoln ? Senior Brittany Timko scored a pair of goals in the second half of Sunday's game to lift the Huskers to a come-from-behind victory, 2-1, over Texas Tech at the Nebraska Soccer Field.<?xml:namespace prefix="o" ns="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office"?>

 

With the win, <?xml:namespace prefix="u1"?>Nebraska improves to 8-3-3 on the season and 3-2-1 in the Big 12 after a 2-1 win over Baylor on Friday.  The loss drops Texas Tech to 5-8-1, 1-4-0 in the Big 12.

 

The two goals were Timko’s 10th and 11th of the season, and the 40th and 41st of her career.  She now has 41 goals and 41 assists, making her only the second player in school history to record 40 goals and 40 assists in their career.  Timko joins Meghan Anderson (48 goals, 50 assists) as the only two players in Nebraska soccer history to hit the 40/40 mark.  Timko and Anderson are also the only players in the 11-year history of the Big 12 Conference to join the 40/40 club, as well as being two of just 35 players in NCAA history to reach the marks. 

 

The Huskers were offensively dominant for the second time this weekend, breaking their season-high shot count of 28 from Friday’s match with a new high of 30 while holding the Red Raiders to 12 shots.  Nebraska put nine of its shots on goal and added 12 corner kicks compared to just two from Texas Tech.

 

Timko and sophomore Aysha Jamani led the offensive charge for NU, with Timko placing three of nine shots on goal and Jamani adding two shots on goal behind eight shots. 

 

Texas Tech put Nebraska on its heels early when Brittney Harrison scored her eighth goal of the season unassisted in the 26th minute for the lone score of the first period.  With the Red Raiders pressuring the Husker defense, sophomore goalkeeper Jamie Klages called senior Tanya Dennis off of a loose ball.  However, the ball took a hard bounce inside the 18-yard box and went over Klages’ head to find Harrison in front of an open net for the score.

 

The Huskers struggled to finish shots in the first half, but came out of the break still determined to score.  In the second half alone, Nebraska put five of 16 shots on goal, including the game-tying score from Timko at 54:41.  With the play on Nebraska’s side of the field, the Texas Tech defense had pushed up in an effort to draw the Huskers offsides.  Showing her experience, Timko successfully stayed even with the last defender until taking a pass from sophomore Selenia Iacchelli.  Timko then exploded past the Red Raider defense, earning a shot inside the box for the game-tying goal.  Iacchelli was credited with her first assist of the season on the play.

 

Nebraska’s game-winning goal again featured great ball-handling skills and speed from Timko.  The Coquitlam, British Columbia, native beat the Tech defense down the left side of the field a second time and fired a hard shot toward the right post.  Texas Tech goalkeeper Tina Rincon got a hand on the ball, but was unable to deflect it out of the net.

 

In addition to its two goals, Nebraska mounted a number of solid second-half scoring opportunities that fell just short, including another from Timko.  Just minutes after scoring her second goal, she again found herself one-on-one with Rincon, but pushed the shot just wide of the open left corner.

 

Jamani’s best chance of the second period came with under five minutes to go as she fired a shot from just six yards out that was denied by a diving close-range save by Rincon.

 

Freshman Carly Peetz also had a number of scoring opportunities, including two on set plays late in the game.  Peetz’s first chance came off a corner kick where she connected a solid header that found Rincon for the save.  Minutes later, Peetz again battled Rincon after a free kick with the Texas Tech keeper coming up with the ball.

 

Rincon posted seven saves on the afternoon, while Nebraska’s Klages earned three.

 

The Huskers will split time between the road and home next weekend as they head to Texas A&M on Friday for a 7:30 p.m. start before returning to the Nebraska Soccer Field on Sunday as they play host to Texas at 1 p.m.