Story by NU Athletic Communications
After playing a pair of exhibition matches, the Nebraska soccer team begins its regular season this week at home against Oklahoma State and Colorado State.
Both matches will be played at Hibner Stadium, with Thursday’s game set for 7:05 p.m. (CT) and Sunday’s game kicking off at 1:05 p.m. (CT). Action will be streamed on B1G+ (subscription required), and fans can purchase general admission and single match tickets to each game by calling 1-800-8 BIG RED or by visiting Huskers.com/tickets.
Next Up
NU continues its five-match homestand as it hosts Duke on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7:05 p.m. (CT).
Quick Notes
- Seniors Florence Belzile, Sarah Weber and Jordan Zade received Big Ten Preseason Honors recognition, announced by the conference on Tuesday.
- The Big Ten also released its preseason poll on Tuesday, as voted by the head coaches. Nebraska is picked to finish fourth in the conference and currently sits in sixth in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
- The 2023 season was one to remember as NU ended the year ranked No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches poll after an impressive NCAA-tournament run, finishing in the Elite Eight for the first time since 1999.
- Last season, the Husker coaching staff was named the NCAA North Region Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches and Eleanor Dale, Weber and Zade earned spots on the 2023 All-North Region team. Dale also garnered first-team NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer All-America honors, as she became the 20th All-American in program history and the fourth first-team honoree.
- The 2023 Big Ten Champs finished the season atop the conference rankings in goals scored with 68, also good for fifth in the nation. The Huskers received numerous conference awards led by NCAA First-Team All-American Dale who became the first Husker to claim the Big Ten Forward of the Year honor. Dale was joined by Weber as a first-team All-Big Ten member, and defender Zade and midfielder Haley Peterson were named to the second team.
- The Huskers have 10 regular-season home games scheduled for their 10th season at Hibner Stadium in 2024. Additionally, NU will host one exhibition, five non-conference and five conference matches.
- Nebraska went 3-1-2 during the spring season with victories over Colorado, Kansas and Omaha.
- NU returns three of four All-Big Ten performers from last season, seniors Weber, Peterson and Zade. Nebraska’s all-time all-conference total increased to 110, including 38 honorees since joining the Big Ten in 2011.
- Last season, many Huskers were high in individual standings as Weber tallied 16 total goals, good for fifth in the nation, and midfielder Belzile recorded a team-high 17 assists, which ranked first in the conference and second nationally. Additionally, Belzile’s assists tied for second-most in both conference and Husker history.
- During the 2023 season, the Huskers averaged 1,326 fans per game at Hibner Stadium, third most in Husker history and 15th in the nation. NU garnered 2,318 fans in the NCAA Second Round match versus Tennessee, the most fans in attendance since 2015.
- Head Coach John Walker enters his 31st season, alongside assistant coaches Savanah Anderson-Baer (second season), Ian Bridge (ninth season) and Marty Everding (27th season).
Scouting the Oklahoma State Cowgirls
- Oklahoma State finished the 2023 season with a 12-8 record overall and 5-5 mark in conference play. OSU opened conference play winning four-straight matches, but eventually fell to Oklahoma in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to end its season.
- The Cowgirls will host Oral Roberts for their home opener on Sunday, Aug. 18 in Stillwater, Okla.
- Head Coach Colin Carmichael enters his 20th season at the helm of the Oklahoma State soccer program. He was previously an assistant with Team USA and has a 251-105-50 collegiate coaching record.
- Players to Watch
- #13 Xcaret Pineda (Junior MF): Appeared in all the team’s matches and led OSU last season with 60 shots, 25 of which were on goal. Pineda was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Soccer team.
- #11 Lauden Wilson (Sophomore MF): Started in 14 of OSU’s matches last season and was tied for the team lead of six assists which gave her a spot on the All-Big 12 Freshman team.
Scouting the Colorado State Rams
- Colorado State finished the 2023 season with a 12-6-4 record overall and 6-3-2 mark in conference play. CSU made it all the way to the Mountain West Conference Championship game, but eventually fell to Utah State to end its season.
- The Rams will finish off their short road trip on Thursday, Aug. 22 at Northern Colorado.
- Head Coach Keeley Hagen enters her fourth season at the helm of the Colorado State soccer program. She was previously an assistant at Texas and has a 22-21-15 coaching record.
- Players to Watch
- #18 Olivia Fout (Junior F): Started in all 21 matches she appeared in and set a CSU single-season record with 12 goals. Fout was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year and made First team All-Mountain West.
- #15 Avery Vander Ven (Senior M): Started in all 22 of CSU’s matches last season and set the CSU single-season record with nine assists. Vander Ven was named to the Second-Team All-Mountain Team and the Mountain West All-Newcomer Team.