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 defeating Minnesota in sudden-death overtime in its first-ever NCAA Division I tournament game, later 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 1 John Walker 1994–present

Coaching staff John Walker Head coach 1994 Queen's University Savanah Anderson-Baer Assistant coach 2023 Nebraska Ian Bridge Assistant coach 2015 Austen Parker Assistant coach 2026 Mid-America Christian

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 – ), Ari Romero (2013 – ), Eleanor Dale (2023 – ) 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

Postseason results NCAA Division I tournament Nebraska has appeared in thirteen NCAA Division I tournaments with a record of 19–12–2.

1996 First round Second round Quarterfinal Minnesota Duke Portland W 3–2 (4OT) W 3–0 L 1–0 1997 First round Second round Michigan Notre Dame W 5–1 L 6–0 1998 First round Second round Texas A&M Notre Dame W 7–0 L 2–1 1999 First round Second round Quarterfinal Minnesota Texas A&M Notre Dame W 5–0 W 1–0 D 1–1 2000 First round Second round Richmond Connecticut W 4–0 L 1–0 2001 First round Second round Third round Boston College BYU Portland W 5–0 W 3–0 L 4–0 2002 First round Second round Third round Hartford Yale Santa Clara W 2–0 W 1–0 L 3–2 2003 First round Second round Washington Portland W 2–1 L 4–1 2004 First round Second round Third round Oral Roberts Kansas Illinois W 3–0 W 2–1 (OT) L 2–1 2005 First round Second round Creighton Portland W 1–0 L 3–2 2013 First round Second round Southeastern Louisiana Boston College W 4–0 L 4–1 2016 First round Second round South Dakota UCLA D 0–0 (2OT) L 2–0 2023 First round Second round Third round Quarterfinal South Dakota State Tennessee UC Irvine Stanford W 5–2 W 2–1 W 4–0 L 2–1

Seasons

1994 John Walker 14–4–0 1995 10–8–0 1996 John Walker 23–1–0 9–0–0 1st NCAA Division I third round 6 1997 18–4–0 8–2–0 2nd NCAA Division I second round 7 1998 17–4–1 9–1–0 2nd NCAA Division I third round 10 1999 22–1–2 1st NCAA Division I quarterfinal 5 2000 22–2–0 9–1–0 1st NCAA Division I third round 9 2001 17–5–1 8–1–1 2nd NCAA Division I third round 12 2002 6–3–1 3rd NCAA Division I third round 13 2003 13–8–1 6–4–0 4th NCAA Division I second round 23 2004 14–9–0 6–4–0 5th NCAA Division I third round 22 2005 14–8–1 6–3–1 2nd NCAA Division I second round 21 2006 10–7–3 4–5–1 5th 2007 5–10–4 1–8–1 T–10th 2008 10–9–1 6–4–0 6th 2009 11–5–4 5–3–2 4th 2010 13–7–1 5–4–1 3rd 2011 John Walker 7–10–1 4–7 10th 2012 7–12–1 4–7–0 T–7th 2013 19–4–1 10–1–0 1st NCAA Division I second round 13 2014 8–9–2 4–7–2 T–9th 2015 8–7–2 4–5–2 T–9th 2016 11–6–5 5–3–3 6th NCAA Division I second round 2017 9–5–5 3–3–5 T–8th 2018 9–7–5 5–3–3 5th 2019 4–10–4 3–6–2 T–8th 2020 2–5–3 11th 2021 7–9–2 3–5–2 11th 2022 8–7–5 5–3–2 T–4th 2023 17–4–3 7–1–2 T–1st NCAA Division I quarterfinal 7 2024 6–10–1 3–7–1 T–12th 2024 8–8–8 3–5–3 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 Karina LeBlanc GK Isabelle Morneau DF Sharolta Nonen DF Amy Walsh MF John Walker Asst. coach 2003 United States Sasha Andrews DF Canada Fourth place Tanya Dennis DF Christine Latham FW Karina LeBlanc GK Isabelle Morneau DF Sharolta Nonen DF Brittany Timko MF 2007 China Tanya Dennis DF Canada Group stage Karina LeBlanc GK Brittany Timko MF Amy Walsh MF 2011 Germany Karina LeBlanc GK Canada Group stage Brittany Timko MF 2015 Canada Selenia Iacchelli MF Canada Quarterfinal Karina LeBlanc GK Arianna Romero DF Mexico Group stage

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

Notes

References

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