* ' fi.
Secondary survives injuries
✓✓_
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
Leaving the practice field
Wednesday, Nebraska Defensive
Backs Coach George Darlington
turned around
just in time to
see true fresh
men defensive
backs Keyuo
Craver and Mike
Demps doing
back flips in the
north end zone
of Memorial
Stadium.
“I think we
maybe better re-evaluate how injured
he is,” Darlington said of Demps,
who pulled a hamstring earlier this
fall.
Given the injuries in the sec
ondary, itfe probably safe to say back
flips aren’t high on Darlington’s list
of tilings for defensive backs to do in
practice each day.
But after suffering multiple
injuries and surrendering 590 yards
passing in NU’s season opener
against Louisiana Tech, the confi
dence of the secondary hasn’t
wavered, junior comerback Ralph
Brown. r
Darlington agreed and said he’s
satisfied with the progress the defen
sive backs have made in NU’s last two
games.
“I think the attitude is good,”
99
“(Keyuo Craver) hasn’t played much,
but he has all the talent in the world”
Ralph Brown
NU defensive back
Darlington said. “The guys are work
ing hard”
The biggest blow depth-wise
came when starting free safety Clint
Finley suffered a knee strain midway
through fall camp. Finley ran on his
own Wednesday at practice and is
making “slow progress,” NU Coach
Frank Solich said.
To cover the loss of Finley, junior
Mike Brown moved from rover to
free safety and Joe Walker became
the starting rover.
So because of oneinjury, the
Huskers went from having five
returning starters in the secondary to
three. Starting left comerback Erwin
Swiney has also been slowed by a
groin injury.
The result was less desirable in
Nebraska’s season opener Aug. 30
against Louisiana Tech. But the
Huskers rebounded the following
week against Alabama-Birmingham,
allowing just 56 yards through the air.
“I think we were just disappointed
in ourselves after the Louisiana Tech
game,” Brown said. “But our atti
tudes weren’t low. We know how
good we are.”
And the secondary’s confidence
level doesn’t change when Craver -
the only one of three true freshman
comerbacks to see playing time this
season - talms the field, Brown said.
“He hasn’t played that much, but
he has all the talent in the world,”
Brown said. “All of us have as much
confidence with him out there as if
Swiney was out there. I think that
says a lot”
Both Demps and DeJuan Groce,
who suffered an ankle injury earlier,
likely will redshirt this season.
Craver, on the other hand, said he
is pumped about getting the chance to
play as a true freshman.
“It’s all exciting to me,” Craver
said. “It’s all new to me. But whenev
er they do need me, I’ll be ready.”
And as far as extracurricular
activities at practice go, Craver said,
the coaches don’t need to worry
about losing another defensive back
to a back flip gone bad.
“They never really saw me do it
before,” Craver said. “But I’ve been
doing it for so long. I took gymnastics
since I was 4 years old. It’s about like
walking to me.”
Huskers help Canadian team
By Darren Ivy
Staff writer
For years, the Canada women’s
national soccer tram has battled to
gain respect
The Canadians wanted respect
worldwide, said
current Nebraska
player Isabelle
Momrau, a four
year veteran on
the Canada team.
But the
respect was hard
to achieve
because they
weren’t respected
n their own coun
try - even after
qualifying for one of the 12 spots in
the 1995 World Cup.
The men’s teams received a large
percentage of the $4 million
Canadian Soccer Association budget
Even with all these resources, the
men failed to qualify for the 1998
World Cup, costing the CSA $1 mil
lion.
Meanwhile, the women’s teams
were making the same sacrifices.
“We gave up school and jobs for
that team and didn’t get any compen
sation or recognition,” Momrau said.
On Sept. 6, that all changed.
Nearly 5,000 fans in Etobicoke,
Ontario’s Centennial Stadium
watched as Canada defeated Mexico
it
“We gained support throughout the
tournament. We got people interested
in women s soccer. That’s going to
help in the future.”
Amy Walsh
NU soccer player
1-0 in the finals of the Confederation
of North, Central American and
Caribbean Association Football tour
nament and qualified for the World
Cup for the second straight time.
The attendance was surprising,
said first-year Canadian national
team and fellow Husker player Amy
Walsh, especially after the CSA had
predicted 600 people in attendance at
each game.
“We gained support throughout
the tournament, Walsh said.
“We got people interested in
women’s soccer. TTiat’s going to help
in the future.”
After the game, they were greeted
in the locker room by the president of
the CSA, Momeau said.
Coming into the tournament, NU
Head Coach and Canadian Assistant
Coach John Walker said the coaches
felt the team had a realistic chance of
winning the tournament.
But in the championship match
there were a couple of tense
moments.
In the 66th minute, Mexico’s scor
ing leader, Maribel Dominguez,
slipped a shot past Canadian goal
keeper Nicole Wright only to see
Momeau clear the ball off the line to
preserve the one goal lead.
Then with eight minutes remain
ing in the game, a Mexican forward
kicked a shot that caromed off the
crossbar.
“The whole game was a bunch of
close calls,” said Karina LeBlanc, a
sophomore goalie at Nebraska and
first-year national team player. “We
were happy it didn’t go in.”
Walker said she was, too.
“(The game) was all or nothing,”
Walker said.
Whatever happens in 1999,
Morneau said the Canadians have
already “made history” and earned
respect with their performance at the
CONC AC AF tournament
Northeast tight end commits to Huskers
By David Wilson
Senior staff writer
The Nebraska football team
received its seventh verbal commit
ment Wednesday morning from
Lincoln Northeast tight end Trevor
Johnson.
The 6-foot-4l/2,225-pounder, who
also plays outside linebacker, is the
Rockets’ leading receiver and leading
tackier through their first two games.
“He’s the total package,” Lincoln
Northeast Coach Mark King said.
“He’s got real nice strength and nice
speed and he’s a real smart player.”
Against Bellevue West last week
end, Johnson caught three touchdown
passes as die Rockets (1-1) rolled to a
56-25 victory.
“He kind of took the ball game
over and kind of set die tone for us,”
King said.
King said Johnson’s play remind
ed him of former Lincoln Northeast
standout Erwin Swiney, now the
Comhuskers’ starting left comerback.
“I would say the capabilities he
has in the game are similar to what
Erwin had,” King said. “If it’s third
and-10, we found a way to get die ball
to Erwin. It’s the same way with
Trevor. I think they both could domi
nate a high schodl game.”
As a junior last season, Johnson
broke his leg midway through the sea
son and went virtually unnoticed by
Husker coaches until King brought his
name to them this spring.
Johnson attended Nebraska’s June
football camp, and evidently caught
die eye of the Husker coaches.
But his talents, King said, go
beyond his athletic ability.
“He’s one of our captains,” King
said. “He’s kind of a quiet leader. He?
not a vocal leader at all. He leads by
example. He puts together talent and
hard work.”
Johnson, who has qualified acade
mically, runs a 4.69 hand-timed 40
yard-dash and has a 32-inch vertical
jump.
USC, UCLA head coaches
prepared for NU challenge
By Jay Saunders
Staff writer
It is a battle of conferences this
weekend at the Fila Challenge in Los
Angeles.
No. 11 Nebraska and No. 25
Baylor represent the Big 12 in the
two-day invitational against the
University of Southern California
and the No. 19 University of
California at Los Angeles.
“It’s the Big 12 vs. the Pac-10,”
USC Coach Jim Millinder said. “It is
going to be a blockbuster weekend.”
UCLA (4-1) is the defending Pac
10 Conference champion, and the
Bruins are off to another fast start this
year.
In five games, the Bruins have
allowed only one goal. Starting goal
keeper Lindsay Culp leads the Pac-10
in goals against average (0.22).
The Bruins take on Nebraska (2
1) on Friday and face Baylor (5-0) on
Sunday in the Los Angeles Coliseum.
“There will be no easy game,”
UCLA Coach Todd Saldana said.
“Everyone will get a challenge. That
is an ideal situation.”
* USC (2-2) is the only unranked
team in the Fila Challenge.
The Women of Troy have nine
returning starters from a team that
lost to the Huskers 2-1 last year. USC
is led by midfielder Kim Clark.
Sophomore Isabelle Harvey, who
led the Pac-10 in scoring as a fresh
man, returns to the team after helping
the Canadian national team qualify
for the World Cup.
But USC has not gotten off to a
quick start this year. The team’s loss
es came against No. 18 Maryland and
unranked Towson State. .
Millinder said after the Towson
State game, he can sympathize with
his good friend - Nebraska Coach
John Walker - about an unexpected
loss.
“It was the worst game I have ever
coached,” Millinder said. “I know
how Johnny felt after that Wisconsin
Milwaukee game.”
Both coaches said they are await
ing their teams’ matches with the
Huskers, but it is the other Big 12
team Saldana said is making a lot of
noise.
“Baylor is having a great year
from what everyone says,” Saldana
said. “They are someone that every
one is talking about.”
Even though the Bears have start
ed the season without a loss,
Millinder said Nebraska is a top 10
team.
Millinder would know, he is very
familiar with the Nebraska program
and is friends with Walker.
“I know their personnel very
well,” Millinder said. “They have that
aura about them!”
That aura, Saldana said, isn’t taint
ed despite Nebraska’s loss to UWM.
Saldana said the Huskers’ 3-0 win
against Stanford, another Pac-10
team, should make people realize NU
isn’t having an off year.
“They wouldn’t be a team we
would take lightly even if they lost a
game,” Saldana said. “The program is
very respected.”
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