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Weekend Recap
The Huskers opened the tournament against the San Francisco Dons on Friday afternoon. Mayme Conroy got the Huskers off to a perfect start when she slid a long Stacy Bartels cross in the back of the net only 56 seconds into the match. The Dons built up the pressure as the half went on but weren’t able to break through the Husker defense before halftime. However, the Huskers came out buzzing in the second half with a couple early scoring chances. In the 64th minute Jordan Jackson was taken down in the penalty box by a mistimed tackle from Dons defender Abigail Phillips. The referee pointed to the spot and showed Phillips a red card for her tackle. Jackson was able to convert her penalty and double the Husker lead. Nebraska made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute when Katie Kraeutner crossed the ball from the left wing into the path of Jaycie Johnson who smashed it into the net. Nebraska finished the match with a total of 20 shots including 7 on target compared to San Francisco’s 12 shots with only 3 on target.
The team faced a stiffer test against the San Diego Toreros in a rainy Sunday morning matchup. This time the Toreros got off to a hot start when a nice cross by Victoria Walker was headed in by striker Michaela Dooley just 1:47 into the match. The Huskers got back on track in the 18th minute when Kylie Greischar passed it off to Katie Kraeutner who struck a nice ball from 18 yards out through a crowd and into the net beyond the goalkeeper’s reach for her first goal of the season. Nebraska controlled the ball for the rest of the first half and into the second half until they took the lead. In the 61st minute, Jordan Jackson placed an excellent through ball for Jaycie Johnson who took a nice touch and placed a shot in the back of the net. The Huskers were able to hold on for the remaining 30 minutes and emerge victorious over the Toreros. Nebraska had 18 shots in the match with 5 on target compared to San Diego’s 13 shots with 3 on target.
Seniors Ari Romero and Jordan Jackson along with freshman Jaycie Johnson were named on the All-Kansas Tournament team for their performances in the two matches.
Looking Ahead
The Huskers are looking to improve on last season’s 4-7 conference record when they open their Big Ten season against Michigan State. The Spartans come into this game with a 6-0-2 record including a win at New Mexico and draws against San Diego State and Oakland. Some players to watch for are sophomore forward Alyson Krause, who has two goals and three assists on the season and leads the team with ten shots on goal, and freshman midfielder Jessica White also has three goals from seven shots on target. Sparty prevailed 2-1 in last season’s matchup at East Lansing. Thursday’s match will be broadcast LIVE on Big Ten Network with kickoff at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Nebraska wraps up their non-conference schedule with a matchup against 14th ranked Denver. They are riding into Lincoln on a 7-0-0 record with consecutive wins over Alabama and Colorado. The Pioneers are spearheaded by senior forward Kristen Hamilton who leads the team with six goals, five assists and 18 shots on target. Senior midfielder Nicholette DiGiacomo is right behind her teammate with 12 shots on target and four goals on the season. Denver has already scored an impressive 18 goals this season while only giving up three. In their last matchup at Denver two seasons ago, the Pioneers claimed a 3-2 victory over the Huskers. Sunday’s match kicks off at 1:00 p.m. CT and will be live streamed on BTN.com.
Husker Soccer Fan Support
Yesterday there was a meeting organized by Husker Hooligans with the goal of bringing more students to Nebraska Soccer matches. I think it’s great to know the word is spreading around campus about women’s soccer so hopefully there will be bigger crowds this week at the Nebraska Soccer Field.
We will be holding an interest meeting tonight at 830 in the union room 353. Great chance to get involved with the soccer student section!
— Husker Hooligans (@HuskerHooligans) September 16, 2013
I will be publishing plenty of soccer articles in the upcoming days including a guide to women’s college soccer rules and regulations as well as reports from both matches I will be attending this week.
GO BIG RED!!!!