# Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer

The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska has played its home games at Barbara Hibner Soccer Stadium since 2015.
The program has been coached by John Walker since its establishment in 1994. Nebraska finished 23–1–0 and reached the national quarterfinal in 1996, the beginning of a five-year stretch in which NU achieved most of its national success. The program has reached in thirteen NCAA Division I tournaments and won a combined eleven conference championships across the Big 12 and Big Ten. Eleven former Cornhuskers have competed in the FIFA Women's World Cup, most of them for Walker's native Canada. Christine Latham and Brittany Timko are enshrined in the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame.

## History

In 1994, Nebraska became the first Big Eight school to add women's soccer as a varsity sport. NU hired John Walker to lead the new program on the recommendation of Bret Simon, a men's assistant at nearby Creighton. Walker historically advocated an aggressive attack, often playing with four forwards during his early years in Lincoln. He is the only women's soccer coach Nebraska has ever had and one of the longest-tenured head coaches in school history.
Nebraska played as an independent until the Big 12 was formed in 1996. NU began its first season in the new conference 21–0–0, winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament before falling to third-ranked Portland in the NCAA Division I quarterfinal. It was the first of five consecutive national top-ten finishes, but an elimination on penalty kicks against Notre Dame in 1999 and an upset loss to Connecticut in 2000 ended the most successful stretch in program history without a national title.
Nebraska's Big 12 dominance waned in the early 2000s and its ten-year NCAA tournament streak ended in 2006. The program has reached the tournament just three times since joining the Big Ten in 2011, winning two regular-season conference titles and the 2013 Big Ten tournament. After six consecutive seasons with fewer than ten wins, Nebraska reached the national quarterfinal in 2023 before falling to Stanford in extra time; forward Eleanor Dale became the first Cornhusker to lead the country in goals.

## Conference affiliations

* Independent (1994–1995)
* Big 12 Conference (1996–2010)
* Big Ten Conference (2011–present)

## Coaches
### Coaching history

| No. | Coach | Tenure | Overall | Conference |
| 1 | John Walker | 1994–present | 371–203–62 (.632) | 160–106–35 (.590) |

### Coaching staff

| Name | Position | First year | Alma mater |
| John Walker | Head coach | 1994 | Queen's University |
| Savanah Anderson-Baer | Assistant coach | 2023 | Nebraska |
| Dan Ball | Assistant coach | 2024 | Milligan (TN) |
| Ian Bridge | Assistant coach | 2015 | |

## Venues

Nebraska hosted its first seven home matches at Whittier Field, a public park just east of campus, before moving to the Abbott Sports Complex in 1995. The Abbott Sports Complex, located miles from campus, hosted the program for ten years and was the site of a program attendance record of 4,830, a 1–1 draw between NU and second-ranked North Carolina in 2002. The university constructed additional soccer facilities in the Hawks Championship Center as part of a 2005 Memorial Stadium renovation, allowing the program to move on-campus to the Nebraska Soccer Field at Ed Weir Stadium. Ed Weir Stadium was among the smallest soccer venues in the Big Ten.
In 2015, Nebraska constructed Barbara Hibner Soccer Stadium just north of the Bob Devaney Sports Center and adjacent to Nebraska Innovation Campus. Hibner Stadium was built as part of a $20.4-million soccer and tennis complex, and has a listed capacity of 2,500 with 1,800 permanent seats. It is named for former administrator Barbara Hibner, who was integral to the introduction of soccer as a varsity sport at NU and died in 2007.

## Championships and awards
### Conference championships

Regular season
* Big 12: 1996, 1999, 2000
* Big Ten: 2013, 2023
Tournament
* Big 12: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002
* Big Ten: 2013

### Individual awards

* National coach of the year: John Walker (1996)
* Conference player of the year: Kari Uppinghouse (1996), Kim Engesser (1998), Sharolta Nonen (1999), Christine Latham (2000, 2001), Brittany Timko (2004, 2005, 2006), Morgan Marlborough (2009, 2010), Jordan Jackson (2013 – MF), Ari Romero (2013 – DF), Eleanor Dale (2023 – FW)
* Conference freshman / newcomer / rookie of the year: Morgan Marlborough (2009)

### First-team All-Americans

* Kari Uppinghouse – 1996
* Sharolta Nonen – 1999
* Meghan Anderson – 2000
* Jenny Benson – 2000
* Eleanor Dale – 2023

## Seasons

| Regular season champion | Tournament champion | Regular season and tournament champion |
| Year | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | Final rank |
| Independent (1994–1995) |||||||
| 1994 | John Walker | 14–4–0 | | | | |
| 1995 | John Walker | 10–8–0 | | | | |
| Big 12 Conference (1996–2010) |||||||
| 1996 | John Walker | 23–1–0 | 9–0–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Third Round | 6 |
| 1997 | John Walker | 18–4–0 | 8–2–0 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Second Round | 7 |
| 1998 | John Walker | 17–4–1 | 9–1–0 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Third Round | 10 |
| 1999 | John Walker | 22–1–2 | 10–0–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinal | 5 |
| 2000 | John Walker | 22–2–0 | 9–1–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Third Round | 9 |
| 2001 | John Walker | 17–5–1 | 8–1–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Third Round | 12 |
| 2002 | John Walker | 16–6–3 | 6–3–1 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Third Round | 13 |
| 2003 | John Walker | 13–8–1 | 6–4–0 | 4th | NCAA Division I Second Round | 23 |
| 2004 | John Walker | 14–9–0 | 6–4–0 | 5th | NCAA Division I Third Round | 22 |
| 2005 | John Walker | 14–8–1 | 6–3–1 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Second Round | 21 |
| 2006 | John Walker | 10–7–3 | 4–5–1 | 5th | | |
| 2007 | John Walker | 5–10–4 | 1–8–1 | T–10th | | |
| 2008 | John Walker | 10–9–1 | 6–4–0 | 6th | | |
| 2009 | John Walker | 11–5–4 | 5–3–2 | 4th | | |
| 2010 | John Walker | 13–7–1 | 5–4–1 | 3rd | | |
| Big Ten Conference (2011–present) |||||||
| 2011 | John Walker | 7–10–1 | 4–7 | 10th | | |
| 2012 | John Walker | 7–12–1 | 4–7–0 | T–7th | | |
| 2013 | John Walker | 19–4–1 | 10–1–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round | 13 |
| 2014 | John Walker | 8–9–2 | 4–7–2 | T–9th | | |
| 2015 | John Walker | 8–7–2 | 4–5–2 | T–9th | | |
| 2016 | John Walker | 11–6–5 | 5–3–3 | 6th | NCAA Division I Second Round | |
| 2017 | John Walker | 9–5–5 | 3–3–5 | T–8th | | |
| 2018 | John Walker | 9–7–5 | 5–3–3 | 5th | | |
| 2019 | John Walker | 4–10–4 | 3–6–2 | T–8th | | |
| 2020 | John Walker | 2–5–3 | 2–5–3 | 11th | | |
| 2021 | John Walker | 7–9–2 | 3–5–2 | 11th | | |
| 2022 | John Walker | 8–7–5 | 5–3–2 | T–4th | | |
| 2023 | John Walker | 17–4–3 | 7–1–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Quarterfinal | 7 |
| 2024 | John Walker | 6–10–1 | 3–7–1 | T–12th | | |

## International competition
### Women's World Cup

Eleven former Nebraska players have represented their country in the FIFA Women's World Cup. Ten of these competed for Canada, a country that Ontario native John Walker recruited heavily. NU hosted a scrimmage against the Canadian national team prior to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.
| Year | Host | Player | Position | Country | Finish |
| 1995 | Sweden | Isabelle Morneau | DF | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | Tanya Franck | DF | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | Isabelle Morneau | DF | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | Sharolta Nonen | DF | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | Amy Walsh | MF | Canada | Group stage |
| 1999 | United States | John Walker | Asst. coach | Canada | Group stage |
| 2003 | United States | Sasha Andrews | DF | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Tanya Dennis | DF | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Christine Latham | FW | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Isabelle Morneau | DF | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Sharolta Nonen | DF | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2003 | United States | Brittany Timko | MF | Canada | Fourth place |
| 2007 | China | Tanya Dennis | DF | Canada | Group stage |
| 2007 | China | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Group stage |
| 2007 | China | Brittany Timko | MF | Canada | Group stage |
| 2007 | China | Amy Walsh | MF | Canada | Group stage |
| 2011 | Germany | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Group stage |
| 2011 | Germany | Brittany Timko | MF | Canada | Group stage |
| 2015 | Canada | Selenia Iacchelli | MF | Canada | Quarterfinal |
| 2015 | Canada | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Quarterfinal |
| 2015 | Canada | Arianna Romero | DF | Mexico | Group stage |

### Olympians

| Olympiad | City | Gymnast | Position | Country | Finish |
| 2008 (XXIX) | Beijing | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Quarterfinal |
| 2008 (XXIX) | Beijing | Brittany Timko | MF | Canada | Quarterfinal |
| 2008 (XXIX) | Beijing | Amy Walsh | MF | Canada | Quarterfinal |
| 2012 (XXX) | London | Karina LeBlanc | GK | Canada | Third place |
| 2012 (XXX) | London | Brittany Timko | MF | Canada | Third place |