Lincoln
- The
Nebraska soccer program announced its 2012 schedule on Thursday, July 5, with
the Huskers set to play 19 games in their second season as members of the Big
Ten Conference. The Huskers face six teams that qualified for the NCAA
Tournament last year, including Virginia Tech and Penn State, who each made
Sweet 16 appearances.
The 2012
campaign kicks off on Friday, Aug. 17, in Norman, Okla., when the Huskers visit
the Oklahoma Sooners for a 7 p.m. game at John Crain Field. NU leads the
all-time series with the Sooners, 12-2-1, and it is the first meeting between
the two programs since Nebraska left the Big 12 Conference following the 2010
season.
For the third
straight year the Huskers will play host to 10 home games, including
non-conference visits from Drake, Virginia Tech, New Mexico, Southeast Missouri
State and Northern Colorado. NU opens play at the Nebraska Soccer Field on
Sunday, Aug. 19, against the Drake Bulldogs at 1 p.m. The games against
Virginia Tech and New Mexico take place during the Husker Classic, on Friday,
Aug. 24 and Sunday, Aug. 26. Iowa State will also be in Lincoln that weekend,
but will not play the Huskers.
Also during non-conference
play, Nebraska makes a trip to Baylor on Friday, Aug. 31, after the two teams
tied, 1-1, last year in Lincoln and the Huskers play the Cincinnati Bearcats
for the first time in program history on Sunday, Sept. 2, at Gettler Stadium.
Big Ten
Conference play opens on Friday, Sept. 14, with a trip to Evanston, Ill., to
play the Northwestern Wildcats. The Huskers shut out the Wildcats, 3-0, last
season in NU's first ever Big Ten Conference event in any sport.
The Huskers
then return to Lincoln for a game with Northern Colorado before hosting a pair
of conference games against Purdue on Friday, Sept. 21, and Indiana on Sunday,
Sept. 23.
Nebraska
heads back on the road for three straight games against Michigan State (Sept.
28), Michigan (Sept. 30) and Wisconsin (Oct. 5). The Huskers will be looking to
post roads wins at each school after the Spartans, Wolverines and Badgers each
left Lincoln with a victory last season.
The premier
home game of the season takes place on Friday, Oct. 12, when the Penn State
Nittany Lions and reigning Big Ten Forward-of-the-Year Maya Hayes come to
Lincoln for a 4 p.m. game at the Nebraska Soccer Field. The Nittany Lions have won or earned a share of the past 14 Big Ten women's
soccer regular-season titles. The weekend also includes a showdown with the
Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday, Oct. 14 at Noon. The Huskers beat the Buckeyes, 3-2,
in Columbus last year in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Nebraska's road
schedule wraps up with a visit to Iowa City on Thursday, Oct. 18, to play the
Iowa Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. and at Illinois on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 1 p.m. The
Fighting Illini won the Big Ten Conference Tournament last year and return Big
Ten Midfielder-of-the-Year Vanessa DiBernardo.
The regular
season concludes on Friday, Oct. 26, with a visit from the Minnesota Golden
Gophers on Senior Day. The Huskers won the first five meetings in the all-time
series with Minnesota, before the Gophers won 6-3 last year at home.
Nebraska
will look to be one of eight teams that qualifies for the Big Ten Conference
Tournament, which is scheduled to be played in Bloomington, Ind., at Armstrong
Stadium. Hosted over five days from Wednesday, Oct. 31 to Sunday, Nov. 4, the
Hoosiers automatically earn a bid to the tournament as the host school. The
winner of the tournament earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA
Tournament.
