Huskers Travel to San Antonio for 2010 Big 12 Championship

Game 20: No. 6 Missouri (7-9-2, 5-5-0) vs. 3 Nebraska (12-6-1, 5-4-1)
Date: Nov. 3, 2010
Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Blossom Soccer Stadium (map), San Antonio, Texas
Capacity: 2,800
Series History: NU leads, 16-3-0
Live Video: Big12Sports.com
Live Stats: Big12Sports.com
Twitter: Twitter.com/NebraskaSoccer

Holding the school's highest win total since 2005, the Nebraska soccer team travels to San Antonio this week for the 2010 Big 12 Championship. The No. 3 Huskers (12-6-1, 5-4-1) will face No. 6 Missouri (7-9-2, 5-5-0) in the first round Wednesday afternoon at Blossom Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m. The winner will take on either No. 2 Oklahoma State or No. 7 Texas Tech in the semifinals Friday evening at 8 p.m. Fans can catch all the action of the first two rounds with free live video and stats on Big12Sports.com, while Fox Sports Net will provide television coverage of the championship game Sunday at Noon.

Nebraska is attempting to qualify for its first NCAA Tournament since 2005 but will need a positive showing in San Antonio to earn an at-large bid or automatic berth. Nebraska tied Oklahoma for third place in the regular season Big 12 standings but gained the No. 3 seed due to the goal differential tiebreaker. The Huskers have a No. 54 RPI as of Nov. 1. Last year, the Huskers missed the NCAA Tournament with an 11-5-4 record and No. 72 RPI.

Nebraska finds itself in a familiar first-round situation, as the Huskers are facing the previous year's defending regular-season champion in the first round for the second straight year. In 2009, NU shut out 2008 champion Oklahoma State at home before losing a 3-0 first round match in San Antonio. This season, the Huskers defeated 2009 champion Missouri in Lincoln before drawing the Tigers in the first round of the 2010 Big 12 Championship.  Nebraska's win over the Tigers on Oct. 10 was a 4-2 come-from-behind victory after the Big Red fell down 2-0 at halftime.

The Huskers were nicely represented on the Big 12 postseason awards list released Monday, headlined by sophomore Morgan Marlborough's second straight Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award. Sophomore teammate Jordan Jackson also earned a spot on the All-Big 12 First Team to give Nebraska multiple selections for the 14th time in 15 seasons. Marlborough is the first player to ever lead the conference in points (44), goals (16) and assists (12), while her 44-point total currently ranks second in the NCAA. Jackson ranks second in the Big 12 with 29 points on 10 goals and nine assists.

Scouting Missouri
Missouri (7-9-2, 5-5-0) concluded the regular season by winning 2-of-3 matches on the road, defeating Baylor and Texas Tech before losing at Iowa State to finish sixth in the conference standings. The Tigers faced one of the toughest schedules in Division I soccer this season by taking on nationally-ranked Maryland, Duke and North Carolina in non-conference action away from Columbia. The Tigers challenging schedule resulted in a 2-4-2 non-conference record before they went 5-5-0 in Big 12 play. Last season, Missouri won the Big 12 regular season title and finished with a 13-6-3 overall record but was left out of the NCAA Tournament field.

All-Big 12 Second Team selection Alysha Bonnick leads the Tigers with 21 points on nine goals and three assists. She is one of three MU players in double-digit scoring with senior Krista Kruse (16 points; seven goals, two assists) and freshman Danielle Nottingham (10 points; three goals, four assists). Freshman Alyssa Diggs and junior Kendra Collins scored in the 4-2 defeat at Nebraska on Oct. 10.

Senior goalkeeper Paula Pritzen has started the past three games for the Tigers and has gone 2-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .571 save percentage. Pritzen replaced Gwin late in Missouri's 4-2 loss at Texas A&M on Oct. 17. Gwin had previously gone 0-5-2 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .678 save percentage.

Head coach Bryan Blitz is in his 15th season at Missouri and holds a 161-134-16 record with the Tigers. Prior to heading to Columbia, Blitz spend five years as the head coach for the Butler Bulldogs. Earlier this season, he picked up his 200th career win (206-178-24).

Husker History Against the Tigers
Nebraska has controlled the all-time series against Missouri, 16-3-0, although the Tigers have earned recent wins in 2007 and 2009. The Huskers won the first 11 meetings before Missouri picked up a win in the series.

Last year in Columbia, the 23rd-ranked Tigers shut out the Huskers, 5-0, to clinch the Big 12 regular-season championship. A month ago, the Huskers defeated Missouri, 4-2, in Lincoln. The two teams have met four times in the Big 12 Championship, with Nebraska holding a 3-1 edge. Missouri won the last Big 12 postseason meeting with a 3-2 win in the 2003 semifinals.

Nebraska in the Big 12 Championship
Nebraska has enjoyed great success in the Big 12 Championship, although the Huskers have not advanced past the first round since 2005. In the 14-year history of the tournament, NU has:

-Advanced to the semifinals nine times
-Advanced to the championship game six times
-Captured the title a league-leading five times
-Compiled a 17-8 all-time record
-Posted a .680 winning percentage

A year-by-year look at the Huskers' Big 12 Championship success is listed below:
Year               Record             Result               Last Game (Result)
1996               2-0                   Champion Texas A&M (W, 1-0 2OT)
1997               1-1                   Runner-Up         Texas A&M (L, 1-3)
1998               2-0                   Champion             Missouri (W, 4-0)
1999               3-0                   Champion             Missouri (W, 2-1)
2000               3-0                   Champion        Texas A&M (W, 4-1)
2001               1-1                   Semifinals         Texas A&M (L, 2-3)
2002               3-0                   Champion        Texas A&M (W, 1-0)
2003               1-1                   Semifinals             Missouri (L, 2-3)
2004               0-1                   First Round               Texas (L, 0-2)
2005               1-1                   Semifinals         Texas A&M (L, 2-4)
2006               0-1                   First Round          Texas (L, 0-1 OT)
2007               Did not Qualify
2008               0-1                   First Round          Colorado (L, 0-1)
2009               0-1                   First Round Oklahoma State (L, 0-3)

Big 12 Championship Records
Nebraska boasts a 17-8 all-time record in the Big 12 Championship, recording the second-most wins behind Texas A&M (21-9-2). The Huskers hold the top winning percentage at .708. Below is a breakdown of the all-time Big 12 Championship records of the eight teams competing in San Antonio this week:

All-Time Big 12 Championship Records
Oklahoma St   9-3-2 (.714)
Texas A&M     21-9-2 (.687)
Nebraska        17-8-0 (.680)
Missouri          12-11-1 (.520)
Texas             12-12-2 (.500)
Colorado        7-10-2 (.421)
Oklahoma       1-5-0 (.166)
Texas Tech     0-5-0 (.000)

Nebraska vs. Rest of the Big 12 Field
Nebraska went 3-3-1 in 2010 against the other seven teams that qualified for the Big 12 Championship. NU owns a 81-41-4 all-time record against the field, including a 10-8 mark at the Big 12 Championship. Below is a breakdown of how NU has fared against the championship field this season, all-time and all-time at the Big 12 Championship.

Opponent           2010                 All-Time All-Time Big 12 Championship
at Oklahoma St   L, 2-4                10-6-0                                     0-1
Texas A&M         L. 1-2                14-12-0                                   5-3
Missouri              W, 4-2               16-3-0                                     3-1
Texas                 W, 2-1               10-10-0                                   1-2
at Colorado         L, 1-2                7-7-2                                       0-1
at Oklahoma        T, 0-0 (2 OT)      12-2-1                                     0-0
at Texas Tech      W, 5-4 (OT)       15-1-1                                     1-0
Total                   3-3-1                 84-41-4                                 10-8

Huskers Rank No. 54 in Latest RPI
Nebraska is No. 54 in this week's RPI. Six of the Huskers' opponents rank in the top 50 (No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 24 Arizona State, No. 25 Texas, No. 32 New Mexico and No. 50 Oklahoma). The Rating Percentage Index measures strength of schedule and how a team fares against that schedule. It is heavily considered when the NCAA selects its field for the NCAA Tournament.

Last season, Nebraska finished with an RPI of 72.

Marlborough Ranks Among Nebraska's, Nation's Best Players
Sophomore Morgan Marlborough ranks in the top 10 nationally in six offensive categories - total points (2nd, 44), points per game (2nd, 2.32), total goals (Tie-3rd, 16), goals per game (Tie-3rd, 0.841), total assists (Tie-3rd, 12) and assists per game (Tie-4th, 0.63). Despite playing in only 38 collegiate games, the Lee's Summit, Mo., native has already risen to No. 7 on the school's top 10 list with 37 career goals. Earlier this season, Marlborough had at least one goal in eight straight matches to break Christine Latham's 11-year school record. While doing so, she was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12, marking the fifth time she has earned a weekly conference award during her career. Marlborough has shown her all-around offensive game by also leading the Big 12 in assists this season with 12, tying her for 10th on the single-season all-time list. With 19 career assists, she is just three away from 10th on the career chart.

This season, Marlborough was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year as she became the first player in league history to lead the conference in points, goals and assists. In 2010, she has passed former Huskers Nikki Baker (2002-04), Kelly Rheem (1998-2001), Kori Saunders (1999-2002) and Jenny Benson (1996-2000) on the all-time goal chart. Christine Latham (1999-2002) is the school record keeper with 69 career goals.

Although the all-time goal list is one of the most prominent charts, Marlborough holds her highest top-10 ranking with 10 multiple-goal games, tied for the fourth-most in school history with Kari Uppinghouse and Lindsay Eddleman. She is also eighth in points (93) and ninth in game-winning goals (7).

Last season, Marlborough's 49 points (21 goals, 7 assists) led a Husker scoring attack that ranked third in the NCAA with 3.10 goals per game, the highest scoring average by a Nebraska team since 2000 (4.0). Marlborough was named a freshman All-American and earned Big 12 Offensive Player and Newcomer of the Year awards.

The fifth-highest scorer in the NCAA last fall, Marlborough broke the freshman school record for single-season goals just 14 games into the season. She is just one of seven players in school history to produce multiple hat tricks in a career after she tied the single-game school record with four goals against Akron and then had three vs. Oklahoma.

Prior to the start of this season, Marlborough was named to the watch list for the 2010 Hermann Trophy, given annually to the nation's best women's collegiate soccer player.

Jackson Among Top Offensive Players in the Big 12, NCAA
A 2010 All-Big 12 First Team selection, sophomore Jordan Jackson ranks second in the Big 12 and 25th nationally with 29 points. Jackson has nine assists on the year, tied for second in the Big 12 and 22nd in the NCAA.

On Oct. 10, Jackson had the game-winning goal in Nebraska's 4-2 come-from-behind win over Missouri, marking her seventh multiple-point game of the season. Jackson had two goals in Nebraska's 3-1 win over Iowa on Sept. 19, following a two-assist performance in the 3-1 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 17 to earn Big 12 Player of the Week honors. The sophomore scored her first two goals in the Sept. 6 win against IUPUI and has since been one of the biggest offensive threats in conference.

Jackson worked her way into the lineup to start 14 of 20 games as a freshman, including the last 11. The forward scored five goals on the season, tied for the third-most on the team. Jackson added three assists, including one in Nebraska's upset of No. 14 Texas A&M. She accounted for 13 points on the year.

Macdonald Moves Up All-Time Charts
Senior Tara Macdonald broke Karina LeBlanc's single-game save record with 13 saves in the 0-0 double-overtime tie at Oklahoma on Oct. 14. It has been the highlight of her strong senior season that has been plagued with injuries. Despite the setbacks, Macdonald is 7-3-1 this season with a 1.54 goals-against average and .782 save percentage. She has 106 career saves to rank sixth in school history.

On Aug. 31, Macdonald was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week following her strong performances in wins over Loyola Chicago and Loyola Maryland. Macdonald's player of the week award was the first of her career and the ninth for a Husker goalie in school history.

A native of Austin, Texas, Macdonald turned in two shutouts in her first action of the 2010 season, as Nebraska downed the Ramblers (2-0) and the Greyhounds (2-0) three weeks ago. Macdonald totaled seven saves in the victories, including a four-save, complete-game shutout against Loyola Maryland before she fought through injuries in September and early October. The senior has recovered to start the past three games.

Macdonald transferred from the University of Oklahoma in 2008. Despite battling injuries in just over one season at Nebraska, she has reached eighth on the school's all-time top 10 lists for career saves with 70. She is also tied for seventh on the all-time win list with an 11-3-3 record as a Husker.

Last season, Macdonald ranked fourth in the Big 12 Conference with 3.75 saves per game and totaled 45 on the year with a .763 save percentage.

Stevens Compiles 3-0 Big 12 Record
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Emma Stevens has battled for the starting goalkeeper spot and produced a 3-0 record in Big 12 play with wins over Texas, Iowa State and Missouri. Stevens had a career-high seven saves against the Cyclones and allowed only one goal against the Longhorns with five saves. That victory came on the heels of back-to-back wins over Cal State Fullerton and Iowa the previous week. The Corona, Calif., native is 5-1-0 overall with a 1.57 goals-against average and .684 save percentage.

Stevens redshirted the 2009 campaign, but was impressive in the spring season that included a shutout over BYU. At Santiago High School, Stevens accumulated over 6,000 minutes in net and notched 383 saves. As a senior, she posted 121 saves while leading the Sharks to a 19-4-2 record. Stevens earned two shutouts in the state tournament, before Santiago was eliminated in the quarterfinals. She claimed 11 shutouts during the season.

Romero Scores First-Career Goal, Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Freshman Ari Romero saved her first career goal for an opportune time as her rebound header in the 92nd minute gave Nebraska a 5-4 overtime victory at Texas Tech on Oct. 3 and earned her Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors. After a Texas Tech foul less than two minutes into overtime, sophomore Morgan Marlborough took a 40-yard free kick from the right side of the field that hit the left post. Romero was positioned inside the six-yard box for the rebound attempt and headed in the game-winning goal past Texas Tech goalkeeper Colleen Pitts. It marked the first-career goal for Romero, a freshman from Surprise, Ariz., who has started all 18 matches for the Huskers this season. She was an offensive contributor in the 4-1 win over Iowa State on Oct. 8 by assisting Morgan Marlborough on the first goal of the match in the 28th minute.

Freshmen Playing Big Roles in 2010
Four Husker freshmen have earned time in the starting lineup this season, led by forward Ari Romero and defender Maritza Hayes who have each started all 18 matches. Hayes, along with senior Brittany Goosen and junior Katie Goetzmann, have helped lead the Huskers to five shutouts. Goalkeeper Emma Stevens has earned a starting role in eight matches, while Bartels has worked her way into the lineup for seven games and scored three goals.

Nearly the entire true freshmen class has seen playing time this fall, including midfielder Ashley Hick, forward Maddie Hanssler, midfielder Kylie Kusleika and forward Megan Merrill. Goalkeepers Mallorie Monhollon and Amy Swearer have not yet appeared in a game, as they have both battled injuries while serving as back-ups to redshirt freshman Emma Stevens and senior Tara Macdonald.

Cardona, White Return to Starting Lineup
Forward Alexa Cardona has earned four starts this season, marking a return to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 2, 2007 when she scored a goal and had an assist in a 2-2- tie against Iowa State. Since then, the Lincoln, Neb., native was forced to sit out the 2008 season due to a foot injury and then missed the last six games of 2009 with a dislocated knee cap. Before her injury-shortened junior season, Cardona tallied two assists in 11 games. This year, she has one goal from the Oct. 10 win over Missouri as she scored in the 48th minute to spark the comeback in the 4-2 victory. With action in 49 career matches, she is one of the more experienced players on the NU roster.

Another veteran Husker who saw a return to the starting lineup this season is utility player Jaclyn White. The senior from Long Beach, Calif., has started three matches, her first starts since 2007. White has made the most of her opportunity as she scored her fifth career goal at Colorado last Friday. Her role was taken to a further extent against No. 6 Texas A&M on Sept. 26 when she served as the NU goalkeeper for the final 49 minutes of the match. Despite having no previous goalkeeping experience, White gave up only one goal and tallied three saves against the Aggies in the 2-1 loss.

Huskers Hold One of Nation's Biggest Home Field Advantages
Nebraska has shown the Big Red has one of the best home field advantages in the country by losing only one home match in its past 22. The lone loss came against No. 6 Texas A&M on Sept. 26, breaking a streak of 18-straight unbeaten home games that was the fifth-longest in the NCAA. During that span, NU compiled a 9-0-2 record in 2009 that was the best home record since the 2001 Huskers went 12-0-0 at the Abbott Sports Complex. Since moving on campus in 2005, Nebraska has won 75 percent (47-12-10) of its home matches. Last season's home success included a 2-1 upset of No. 14 Texas A&M, while the Huskers scored at least two goals in 9-of-11 home matches and a combined 29 goals in the first four games. Nebraska was 9-1 at home this season.