Lincoln - With the release of the All-Big Ten soccer teams on
Wednesday morning by the conference office, four Huskers earned honors, including
second-team All-Big Ten accolades for sophomore Mayme Conroy and junior Ari
Romero. Freshman Jaylyn Odermann was one of 11 freshmen across the conference
named to the All-Freshman team and Bri Badje was NU's Sportsmanship Award
honoree.
After
scoring just one goal as a true freshman in 2011, Conroy has become the
Huskers' top offensive threat this season with a team-high 14 goals and was one
of three forwards named to the All-Big Ten second team. Her 14 goals rank her 12th
in the nation and she ranks 17th nationally with .737 goals per game.
In the Big
Ten, Conroy ranks third in the league in goals, trailing Minnesota's Taylor Uhl
(19 goals) and Ohio State's Tiffany Cameron (18 goals).
Earlier this
season Conroy scored at least one goal in five straight games and a total of
seven goals during the five game stretch. She notched her first career hat
trick at Wisconsin, with her third goal coming as the game winner in overtime.
After
starting every game during her first two seasons at Nebraska, Romero missed the
first five games of the 2012 season while playing for the Mexican National team
at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Japan. The Huskers were just 1-4-0 in her absence,
but quickly picked up their second win of the season when she returned to the
Husker starting lineup on Sunday, Sept. 2, in Nebraska's 2-1 win at Cincinnati.
One of three
defenders named to the All-Big Ten second team, Romero has helped the Huskers
pitch a pair of shutouts this season and hold five teams to one goal or less in
her 14 games of action.
In three
games during group play at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, Romero started each game
and played all 270 minutes of the three contests. She also led the Mexicans in
assists with two. Romero and her teammates were one of eight teams to reach the
second stage, but were eliminated in the first round following a 1-0 loss to
Nigeria.
Odermann is
one of just four players to start all 19 games for the Huskers so far this
season, as she has been a key member of NU's defense. She has also been a
threat on the offensive side of the field with two goals and two assists on the
year.
Her second
goal of the season came against the Indiana Hoosiers and was not only the game
winner, but ended up helping the Huskers secure a bid at the Big Ten
Tournament. Nebraska, Indiana and Iowa all finished the regular season tied for
seventh in the conference standings, but NU's wins over both the Hoosiers and
the Hawkeyes locked the Huskers into the No. 7 seed.
Badje was one of 12 student-athletes honored with the
Sportsmanship Award. She has been a team leader for very young Husker team in
2012, as 15 of the team's 22 players are freshmen and sophomores. She has
played in all 19 games this season, including 17 starts at defender.
The student-athletes chosen for the Sportsmanship Award are
individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical
behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and
have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
Nebraska makes its first appearance at the Big Ten
Tournament later today when it takes on the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes, who
are ranked 21st in the country in the latest NSCAA poll. The Huskers and
Buckeyes are schedule to take the field at 3:30 p.m. (CT) time at Armstrong
Field on the campus of Indiana University. The game will be streamed live on
BTN.com and live stats can be found on Huskers.com.
