Story by NU Athletic Communications
After a thrilling victory over South Dakota State last Friday in the NCAA First Round, the five-seeded Nebraska soccer team (15-3-3, 7-1-2 Big Ten) will host Tennessee in NCAA Second Round action on Friday at 7 p.m. (CT). The weekend regional begins with eighth-seeded Gonzaga battling UC Irvine at 3:30 p.m. (CT) on Friday at Hibner Stadium.
The matches will be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on Huskers.com. Last Time OutSadie Waite and Sarah Weber netted two goals in the Huskers’ 5-2 win against South Dakota State in the first round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament in front of 2,044 fans on Friday night, which is the second-largest crowd to ever see a match at Barbara Hibner Stadium.
Up NextThe winner of the second round matches will square off on Sunday, Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. (CT) in the third-round match at Hibner Stadium.
Nebraska’s NCAA Tournament History
- Nebraska is making its 13th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and first since 2016 when the Huskers also hosted SDSU in the first round.
- Nebraska holds a 18-12 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- NU has made it to the Sweet 16 on eight occasions and twice advanced to the Elite Eight.
- Nebraska made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 1996, which began a span of 10 consecutive appearances through the 2005 season. NU’s 12th appearance was in 2016.
Individual Milestones and Records to Watch
- Senior Eleanor Dale earned four Big Ten Offensive Player-of-the-Week honors this season (second-most in Big Ten history), and she became the first Nebraska women’s soccer player to claim Big Ten Forward-of-the-Year honors. She leads the country in total goals (26), game-winning goals (8), goals per game (1.24) and shots per game (5.86), while also leading the conference in shots (123), shots on goal (63) and points (57). Dale’s total goals are tied for third in Big Ten history only behind 32 in 2005 and 31 in 2011.
- Dale, who has tallied 10 braces this season, is second on Nebraska’s season goal scored list. She trails only Kim Engesser, who scored 27 goals in 1998. Additionally, she is tied for first in the Huskers record books in game-winning goals and her total shots this season place her at the top of the list.
- Gretna’s Weber joins Dale as a first-team All-Big Ten honoree as Weber captured her second-straight first-team All-Big Ten status. She ranks second in the conference in shots (90), points (34), shots on goal (38) and goals (14). Nationally, Weber is seventh in shots per game (4.50), tied for ninth in total points and 10th in goals.
- Junior midfielder Florence Belzile, a three-time member of the Top Drawer Soccer team, has a team-high 17 assists on the season, good for first in the conference and second nationally. In Big Ten history, she is currently tied for second-most in history only behind Jennifer Walek, Minnesota (1995) and Christie Walsh, Penn State (2001) who both had 18. In the Husker record books, her assists on the season place her tied for second with Husker great Jenny Benson (1999) and is four out of first (Brittany Timko, 2005).