Huskers Open Preseason at Notre Dame

Lincoln - The Nebraska soccer is set to play its first of two exhibition games tomorrow at 11 a.m. (CT) when it faces defending national champion Notre Dame at Alumni Stadium in South Bend, Ind., and the game will be streamed live at www.und.com. The Husker and Fighting Irish have met three times in the NCAA Tournament and once during the regular season, with Notre Dame holding a 3-0-1 advantage over the Huskers. The last game was in 2001, when Notre Dame defended its home turf with a 1-0 victory.

Head Coach John Walker returns a strong squad in 2011 that finished with a 13-7-1 overall record and a 5-4-1 record in the team's final season in the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers bring back seven starters from a year ago, including junior Morgan Marlborough, who earned NU's 17th NSCAA All-America award in 2010 and was named Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year for the second straight season.

Walker has two other all-conference players at his disposal in junior Jordan Jackson and senior Molly Thomas. Jackson ranked in the top 30 nationally in both points (19th) and goals (28th) in 2010, while Thomas added the fourth multi-goal game of her career last season.

The 2011 regular season kicks off at home for the Huskers when they host national-power North Carolina at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. NU will host former Big 12 foe Baylor the following Sunday, before visiting the University of Denver on Thursday, Aug. 25 for Nebraska's first road game of the season.

The 17th season of Nebraska soccer will forever be in the Husker record books, as not only will the Huskers be competing in the Big Ten Conference, but the soccer team will be the first team on campus to compete against another Big Ten program when it hosts Northwestern at Noon on Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Nebraska Soccer Field.