Huskers Return for Non-Conference Finale, Big 12 Home Opener

Game 11: Green Bay (2-7-2, 0-2-1) vs. Nebraska (5-2-3, 0-1-1)
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Live Audio: Click Here
Date: Friday, Oct. 2
Time: 4 p.m. CST
Location: Nebraska Soccer Field, Lincoln, Neb.

Game 12: Oklahoma State (7-4-0, 1-2-0) vs. Nebraska (5-2-3, 0-1-1)
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Date: Sunday, Oct. 4
Time: 1 p.m. CST
Location: Nebraska Soccer Field, Lincoln, Neb. 

Nebraska (5-2-3, 0-1-1 Big 12) will meet Green Bay on Friday at 4 p.m., and then take on defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games will take place at the Nebraska Soccer Field, located just northeast of Memorial Stadium.

The Huskers are now past the halfway point of the 2009 season as they begin a stretch of four straight home games. In its five-game homestand in September, Nebraska compiled a 4-0-1 record. The Huskers are 12-2-2 in their last 15 home games, including a 4-0-1 mark in Big 12 games.

Friday's matchup against Green Bay is a YMCA/CLCC home match, while Sunday's Big 12 home opener versus the Cowgirls is UNL Student Appreciation Day, with the first 150 students receiving free Husker soccer T-shirts and pizza. Live stats (Huskers.com) and live audio (krnu.unl.edu) will be available for both matches.

Husker History vs. Green Bay
Nebraska and Green Bay will meet for the first time in school history this Friday. The Huskers hold a 5-1-0 record against Horizon League opponents as they have previously faced Loyola-Chicago (3- 0-0), Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1-1-0) and Wright State (1-0-0).

The Phoenix are the last of seven first-time opponents for the Huskers in 2009.

Scouting the Green Bay Phoenix
A member of the Horizon League, Green Bay is 2-7-2 this season with a 0-2-1 record in conference action. The Phoenix come to Lincoln on a five-game winless streak (0-3-2) since they picked up their last victory on Sept. 13 against North Dakota State (3-1). Green Bay's other win came at Northern Iowa on Aug. 30, 2-1.

Sophomore midfielder Corey Arno leads the Phoenix with seven points on three goals and one assist while taking just nine shots. She earned Horizon League All-Newcomer honors last season and is one of two players to have multiple goals in 2009, along with freshman forward Nicole Dooher (two goals).

The Phoenix defense has struggled in the second half this year, giving up a total of 12 goals in the final period while just allowing five in the first half.

Head coach Trevor Warren is in his second year as Green Bay's head coach after leading the squad to a 5-7-4 record in his inaugural campaign last fall. Prior to Warren's arrival, the Phoenix struggled to a 2-16-0 mark in 2007. Warren began the women's college soccer at Division II Lock Haven (Pa.), leading the Lady Eagles to a 44-25-3 record in the school's first four seasons.

Husker History vs. Oklahoma State
Nebraska has won nine of 13 match-ups against Oklahoma State for a 9-4 lead in the all-time series. The Huskers only lost to the Cowboys one time in the first 10 meetings, but Oklahoma State has been stronger in recent years and won the last three contests. The Cowgirls were ranked No. 9 nationally at the time of last year's NU-OSU matchup in Stillwater, which the Huskers dropped, 2-1, after a scoreless first half.

Scouting the Oklahoma State Cowgirls
Oklahoma State had its most successful season in school history in 2008, running to an 18-1-4 (7- 1-2) record en route to the Big 12 regular-season championship. The Cowgirls were ousted from the NCAA Tournament in the second round and finished the season ranked No. 13.

Oklahoma State enters this weekend fresh off a 3-0 victory over No. 17 Kansas. The Cowgirls are 7-3-0 overall, with a 1-1-0 Big 12 record after dropping the season opener at Colorado, 1-0. Senior midfielder Siera Strawser and junior forward Katie Richardson each have four goals and two assists to lead the OSU attack, which has outscored its opponents 25-4 this season. The Cowgirl defense has posted seven shutouts in 10 games, tied for seventh-most in the nation.

Oklahoma State's Colin Carmichael is in his fifth season as the Cowgirls' head coach and holds a 66-19-3 record. He was co-head coach with Karen Hancock in 2005 and 2006, when OSU began a run of three straight trips to the NCAA Tournament. Last year's 18-win campaign marked the most victories in school history and earned Carmichael 2008 Big 12 Conference Coach-of-the-Year honors.

Marlborough Climbing the Charts
For the third straight week, freshman Morgan Marlborough is the national leader in women's college soccer in numerous offensive categories, including goals (15), goals per game (1.50), points (34) and points per game (3.40). With two goals last weekend, the forward from Lee's Summit, Mo., reached the school's all-time top-10 list for single-season goals (tie-10th) and moved into third all-time among NU freshmen.

Marlborough was voted Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 15 after she turned in six goals and two assists in wins over North Dakota (Sept. 11) and Akron (Sept. 13), including four goals against the Zips to tie the single-game school record. It marked just the third time in Big 12 history that a player has earned two awards in the same week.

Aside from holding four nation-best marks, Marlborough is also the Big 12 leader in shots (53, 5.3 pg), tied for second in game-winning goals (3) and tied for third in assists (4). Her four-goal, eight-point game against Akron is the best single-game performance in the Big 12 Conference this season.

Marlborough has scored in all but two games this season (vs. Lehigh, at Colorado) and has five multiple-goal games.

Huskers Rank Among Best Scoring Offenses in the Nation
Nebraska is the nation's second-highest scoring team and the Big 12's best with 39 goals through the first 10 games of the season - an average of 3.90 goals per contest and 10 more goals than second-place Texas Tech. The Huskers put up 30 goals during their five-game homestand to break the Nebraska Soccer Field season record of 26 set in both 2005 and 2006.

Last weekend, NU scored three goals in the first half at Texas Tech to mark the most first-half goals in a Big 12 game by the Huskers since Oct. 30, 2005 (also at Texas Tech). Nebraska's nine goals in a 9-0 victory over South Dakota on Sept. 18 is the best single-game total in the Big 12 this season.

Thomas Continues to Score, Surpasses Freshman Totals
Sophomore Molly Thomas turned in a career-best two-goal, two-assist game in Nebraska's 9-0 win against South Dakota on Sept.18, tying her for the second-best single-game point total (8) in the Big 12 Conference this season. Those numbers upped her season totals to six goals and three assists (15 points) to surpass her season numbers from 2008, when she finished the year with five goals and one assist. Thomas is ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference with six goals and has had three multi-goal games this season.

Macdonald Providing Solid Defense In the Net
Junior Tara Macdonald is one of the top goalkeepers in the Big 12 Conference, as she holds a 5-1-3 record in 2009 with a 1.10 goals-against average. The Austin, Texas native ranks second in the Big 12 Conference with an .820 save percentage and 4.56 saves per game, while ranking third in total saves with 41. Macdonald's career-best nine-save game at Villanova on Aug. 30 marks the second-most saves by a Big 12 goalie this season.

Peetz, Caniglia Streaks Near 70
Senior defenders Carly Peetz and Anna Caniglia are bidding to end their collegiate careers having started every single game as a Husker. Now in their fourth seasons, the duo had each started all 69 games from 2006 to 2009. The seniors are primary reasons NU has held opponents to 1.30 goals per game, while each has produced four points on offense (Peetz two goals; Caniglia four assists).

Freshmen See Playing Time in First Year with Huskers
Freshman Jordan Jackson has played in all 10 games this season, scoring three goals on 20 shots, while also tallying one assist, while freshman Bri Exstrom saw her first game action of the 2009 season against South Dakota on Sept. 18 and made the most of her opportunity by notching a goal in the 82nd minute. The freshman class scored five goals in the 9-0 win over the Coyotes and have 19 as a unit (Marlborough-15, Jackson-3, Exstrom-1).

Time Differences at the Nebraska Soccer Field
Fans should note the time differences to the remaining six home games at the Nebraska Soccer Field this season. All Friday games will now begin at 4 p.m., while Sunday contests start at 1 p.m.

Review: Huskers End Road Swing with 3-3 Tie at Texas Tech
Nebraska jumped out to a 3-1 halftime lead, but Texas Tech scored two second-half goals as the Huskers and Red Raiders battled to a 3-3 double-overtime tie in Lubbock, Texas on Sept. 27, the highest-scoring Big 12 Conference game since Nov. 5, 2008.

Freshman Morgan Marlborough led a strong offensive attack with two goals to move into a tie for 10th all-time on the Nebraska single-season scoring charts with 15 goals this year. Marlborough's efforts helped the Huskers to a 3-1 halftime lead, but the advantage disappeared quickly after the break as the Red Raiders scored twice in the first 12 minutes of the second half to produce the final 3-3 score.

Marlborough struck early when she knocked in a 25-yard shot off the left post just 1:40 into the game, before scoring her second goal at the 22:50 mark after she cleaned up a missed header and beat Texas Tech goalkeeper Erin Wikelius.

The Red Raiders cut the lead to 2-1 with five minutes remaining in the first half on Leanne Mihelich's first of two goals in the game.

Powell responded for the Huskers just over a minute later on an open net goal after Wikelius was attempting to clear the ball out of the penalty box. The goal gave Nebraska a 3-1 halftime lead and marked the most scoring in a first half by the Huskers since Oct. 30, 2005 at Texas Tech.

Leading by two, the Huskers were unable to slow down a high-paced game as Texas Tech midfielder Taylor Lytle found the net 35 seconds into the second half before Mehelich scored her second goal of the game in the 56th minute.

After a combined six goals in the first 56 minutes of the game, the two teams went scoreless over the last 64 minutes.

The Huskers' offensive attack was slowed down with only two shots on goal in the second half after taking six in the first 45 minutes. Nebraska outshot Texas Tech overall, 18-13.

Up Next: Huskers Welcome Big 12 South Foes, Baylor and Oklahoma
Nebraska continues its homestand next weekend, as the Huskers host Baylor and Oklahoma at the Nebraska Soccer Field on Friday, Oct. 9 at 4 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 11 at 1 p.m.

The Huskers lead both all-times series with a 12-5 advantage over the Bears and 11-2 record against the Sooners. Nebraska lost to Baylor last season in Waco, 1-0, but defeated Oklahoma in Norman, 1-0.

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After starting the conference season on the road, the Nebraska soccer team returns to Lincoln for an important homestand this weekend, as the Huskers conclude non-conference play and host Oklahoma State in the Big 12 home opener.