irAGE iu___, __Monday, October 26,1998
Coaches credit players with victory
By Andrew Sirnad
Staff writer
Fresh off a shutout of Kansas, die Nebraska
defense managed to play even better in a 20-13
Cornhusker victory over Missouri on Saturday.
There are many points in the game that could
be called highlights for the Husker defense, but
one in particular may have defined the corps as just
plain stingy.
Alter Missouri took over at the NU 25-yard
line thanks to a blocked field goal, it took the
Tigers 10 plays to get their only offensive touch
down of the game with three minutes and 52 sec
onds left in the second quarter.
I-----:
“I was real, real happy about the goal-line
stand,** NU senior rush end Mike Rucker said.
“Even though theyscored, I was real proud of the
-guys”
Faced with a first-and
goal at the 1-yard line,
Nebraska denied MU run
ning back Devin West on
three consecutive carries up
the middle.
On first down, it appeared
linebacker Jay Foreman
caused West to fumble, but
imjj. the officials ruled it was not a
fumble, and Missouri later
scored on a 1-yard run by quarterback Coiby Jones
on fourth down.
The touchdown would be MU’s last points of
die game, as the Blackshirts held Missouri to 166
total yards, the lowest allowed by NU all season.
“This is the players that won the game,” NU
Defensive Coordinator Charlie McBride. “It was
n’t anything the coaches called, it was all the play
ers’effort”
McBride said the defensive play of the game
came early in the fourth quarter when Missouri
was faced with a third and one from its own 45
yard line with the game tied at 13.
West, who ran 24 times for 72 yards - 103
yards below his average - ran right into Rucker,
and the Missouri native drove West back for a 2
yardloss.
“I think the defensive coaches called a great
play” Rucker said. “We came at them and didn’t sit
bade on our heels”
The stop farced an MU punt, which led to NUls
go-ahead touchdown.
McBride was most pleased with the team’s
progression since the its 28-21 loss to Texas A&M.
‘We’re on track right now” McBride said. “We
improved a bit today, and I think this defense is
moving in toe right direction.”
Junior Brian Shaw credits an increase in emo
tion on toe field, something that wasn’t completely
there at the beginning of the season.
“We’re much more excited to play,” Shaw said.
‘We’re celebrating together when we make a play,
and toe whole game is a lot of fun because of that”
NU OUTSIDE HITTER NANCY MEENDEIUNG rearts to a kill near the end of the fourth game agahrtKausa^Saturday
night. Although pushed te the brink, the Heskers refused te go quietly Into Hie fifth game. They wen 10-14.
Loud crowd lifts Huskers over KU
By Andrew Strnad
Staff writer
The Nebraska volleyball team got
a little help from some old friends
Saturday night as the Cornhuskers
avoided a deciding fifth game against
Kansas.
A standing-room-only crowd of
4,288 at the NU Coliseum helped a
tired Husker team recover from a 10
14 deficit in die fourth game to win
theaffair 15-4,15-11,11-15,16-14.
“I’ve never heard the Coliseum
I Nebraska 15 15 11 19 I
l Kansas 4 11 15 14 |
that loud since my sophomore year,”
NU senior outside hitter Jaime
Krondak said, referring to the 1996
regional final match against Penn •
State. "r-,•,
. “That’s what brought us through,
because we sure as hell didn’t do
Please see VOLLEY on 11
K——
We can’t be up on
teams and let them
back into it. That ’s
not going to cut it
down the stretch.”
. Jaime Kkondak
NU senior outside hitter
—
swins
*“3
By Brandon Schulte
Staff writer
Fresh faces and All-American per
formers headlined the Nebraska’s swim
ming and diving teams’ first foray into
the pool this season.
The Comhuskers opened the season
at the Devaney Sports Center over the
weekend, participating in the Big 12
Relays and the Big 12 Invitational.
The Nebraska women, winners of
five consecutive conference titles and
top 10 finishers at the NCAA
Championships three qf the past four
seasons, didn’t miss a beat
Starting right where they left off last
season, the women took the relay title
. besting Texas, Kansas, Texas A&M,
* Missouri and Iowa State - die other five
r//"iffiv # # v v ^iVivv#** '* «» * * i
scnoois rrom weconierence. *;.
. The Nebraska men finished third in
the team competition behind Texas and
Texas A&M. v
‘We’re a force to be reckoned with,”
Swimming Coach
Cal Bentz said. “It'S
not like.football;
there isn’t a system.
We’ll establish
times as the season
goes along and real
ly focus on nation
als.”
The women
won sevea of 12
events in the team
the men won three of
ig up to help die team
-—-— janna Brock, Emma
Johnson and Anthony Rogis.
> t. *' »’»' » * C /C vi*
Individually, sophomore All
American and five-time conference gold
medalist Shandra Johnson led the
charge, winning the 500-yard freestyle,
20C^yardandivnhgl medley, 100-yard
Junior Michael Windisch won the
400 individual medley, while senior
Valery Kalmikovs and junior Adam Pine
won two events apiece.
In the diving relay events, the 1
meter and 3 meSer, both the men and the
women won an event and finished sec
ond in the other. Bentz believes the
divers and the diving coaches have done
a tremendous job getting prepared for
the seasan. ... -4; —
“This is a very good diving confer
ence with several All-Americans,” Bentz
Please see SWIM on 11
k*A*A*A*a1a‘«*"**-A*A*»’A* »V.«Vatt
NU breaks down
Cowgirls’ defense
in four-goal win
By James Nicas
Staff writer
The Oklahoma State soccer team came into Sunday’s game against
Nebraska with illusions of spoiling a perfect fall day for the Comhuskers.
When the game was over, it was the No. 10-ranked Huskers who were
able to fully enjoy the sunshine at the Abbott Sports Complex.
Despite the Cowgirls’ defensive strategy that
often placed eight women in the penalty box, NU
scored three first-half goals, which opened up OSU’s m
defense en route to a 4-0 victory in front of a crowd of 4
“It’s tough when a team is that compact,” NU Nebraska
Coach John Walker said of the Cowjprls’defense.
“But when we were able to score a couple of early ftOn ft
goals, it changed the way the game was played.” U
With the victory, Nebraska raised its record to 13- rwlfL c«
2-1 and 8*0 in the Big 12 Conference. Oklahoma UKianoma ol.
State fell to 7-7-2, -1., .. . • '
and 1-5-2 in con
ference.
In die opening
minutes of the
game, the Huskers
continuously pen
etrated the
Cowgirls’penalty
box. Despite con
trolling posses
sion, NU’s closest
scoring chance
came off a Kristen
Gay header that
went over the goal
post
OSU’s defen
sive strategy final
ly unfolded when
Nebraska led off
its scoring in the
first half with a
goal by forward
Lindsay Eddle
man in the 23rd
minute. After a
long pass from
forward Kelly
Rheem, Eddle
man took a shot
S(X)TTMCCUJBC/DN
NEBRASKA MIDFIELDER KRISTEN BAY, left, feeds
off Oklahoma State’s Aedi Lite dirieg the first
half Sunday afternosn at the Abbott Sports
Complex. Bay scored the second goal as the
Haskeis defeated the Cowgirls 44.
that deflected off a
Cowgirl defender and over goalkeeper Chrystal Emerson’s head.
Eddleman’s goal set off a quick flurry for the Huskers. Gay struck four
minutes later, and senior Kim Engesser finished the first half scoring in the
34* minute.
“In the first half, we played some very good one-and two-touch soccer,”
Walker said. “We had quality play from the wide positions, which is what
you have to do when a team is that compact”
OSUls defensive tactics also were evident in the final statistics. In the
game, Nebraska outshot Oklahoma State 28-3 and had a 13-to-l edge in
cornerkicks. »
“You have to be patient and smart and can’t go down the middle because
that is where the numbers are,” Gay said. “It’s tough to get a tempo going
because they wanted a slower-paced tempo and we wanted it to be a fester
paced.”
Friday evening, Nebraska dominated Oklahoma, defeating the Sooners
7-0. Senior Kim Engesser led five Husker goal scorers with her second hat
trick of die season. "
Gay said the team was happy with this weekends performance.
“It definitely built our confidence,” Gay said. “We did what we wanted
to accomplish and set out to do.”
* x