Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2000)
SportsMonday Huskers'title hopes dashed by Huskies BY JAMIE SUHR No scoreboard was needed to tell the fate of the Nebraska soccer team. NU forward Kelly Rheem’s teary eyes told the story of the No. 4 seed Huskers’ shocking 1-0 loss in the Sweet 16 to the University of Connecticut “We never, ever looked past this game, but never in our minds did we think it was going to end here either,” Rheem said, sit ting at the post-game press conference table. The Huskies were able to take advan tage of an NU mistake at the 38-minute mark. Goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc tried to clear the ball, but UConn’s Sarah Popper intercepted the clearance pass and dropped the ball to Alexa Borisjuk, who chipped it over the head of LeBlanc, who was stuck in between the goal line and the 18-yard box. UConn (17-6-2) could have made the game a lot worse early as two Huskies' shots were deflected off the goal post. One of the shots hit the near post and rolled straight down the goal line to LeBlanc, who couldn’t see the ball until the last second. The Huskers’ (22-2) best - and final - chance came in the 85th minute. Midfielder Meghan Anderson sent a comer kick that UConn goalie Maria Yatrakis mishandled, causing a scramble in front of the net The play took Yatrakis out of position leaving Huskers Kori Saunders and Danica Carey with two shots, but both were blocked by UConn defenders and cleared out of bounds. “I knew they weren’t going to score by Nebraska 0 Connecticut 1 the way that we were playing and the atti tude that we weren't going to give this game up,” said Yatrakis, who made nine saves. NU Coach John Walker said the differ ence between this game and the Huskers’ 2 0 win at UConn earlier this season was sim ple. "In Storrs (Conn.), they never had the lead (in the first game),andhere they got the lead and it gave them a little bit of confi dence,” Walker said. Another difference, Walker pointed out, was that Connecticut used a fourth defend er. Earlier in the season, the Huskies used only three defenders, which UConn Coach Len Tsantiris said was a way to slow down the Husker attack. And the new defense worked to perfec tion as the Huskers were shut out for die first time all year. NU out-shot the Huskies 20-16 and 9-4 for shots on goal, but UConn’s opportuni ties were better than the Huskers’. “Our style worked today,” Tsantiris said. “It doesn’t matter who we play and where, it’s just a game.” The Big Red’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament put to waste its home field advantage and a chance to go toe-to-toe with 15-time national champion North Carolina - the elite soccer program in the country. Instead, the Huskers found themselves watching UConn celebrate on the home field NU fought all year to have. Forward Kelly Rheemkeeps control of the ball as she gets around Connecticut for ward Sarah Popper in the second half of the third round of the NCAA tournament NU out-shot UConn 20-16 in the game, but failed to capitalize and was defeated 1 0 at the Abbot Sports Complex. Sanderford's troops win Cable Classic BY JOHN GASKINS Rule No. 1 for observers of die 2000-01 Nebraska women’s basketball team: Never assume anything. They may be incredibly young. They may, accord ing to Coach Paul Nebraska 69 Sanderford, get cases of the Santa Barbara 61 “hypers” and ' "colorblindness” every now and again when handling the basketball. And they may have taken a severe, 23 point beating at the hands of a bunch of 17-and-18 year-old Australians on their home wood in an exhibi tion game. But die Huskers have already figured out how to beat a top 25 team two games into what is predicted to be a shaky season. NU followed a 91-59 romp over Oakland of Michigan on Friday night with a statement- making 69-61 tri •y* y* umph over No. 25 Califomia WCve got Santa Barbara to capture the those Utters 2001 Time Warner Classic tide. i , Acrowdof3,121attheBob OUl Of trie Devaney Sports Center wit WCiy. I don Y nessed the same Husker team think this ******°°ked like scared puppy irnrm i ruz dogs last week turn into a bunch team is of pit bulls. nninn tn bo And their coach took a bite “ -ii of last week’s criticism that the particularly season might be grim after last intimidatpd Sunday’s 81-58 loss to the Australian Institute of Sport. by “A week ago, you guys didn’t anybody. ” give US a chance,” Sanderford said. “So, don’t ever write us off. _ , _ ... “Hopefully, we’ve got those Sanderford j jtters 0ut of the way. I don’t NU coach think this team is going to be particularly mnmiaatea oy any body,” Sanderford said. Not even Sanderford can assume anything. Case in point senior forward Monique Whitfield - who had shot a grand total of three, 3-pointers in her 33-game NU career - launching a 3-bomb with three minutes left and the Huskers up by just three points with the shot clock reading six seconds. “I just looked at the shot clock and heard some body shout (the time) out,” Whitfield said, “and just let it go. I was confident I could make it” Her coach wasn’t “She was working on 3’s this morning in the shoot around, and I said ‘stay in your range,”’ Sanderford said. Hie shot fell and the bucket put NU up, 62-55, a lead it protected by hitting seven of eight ftee throws in the final 48 seconds. Those shots were badly needed considering Whitfield (11 points on 5 of 7 shooting) made the only three of NU’s 13 shot attempts in the final 10 minutes. The senior, who sat out last year with a tom right ACL, was one of many fresh NU faces providing Josh Wolfe/DN NU guard Margaret Richards puts pressure on a Santa Barbara guard during NU's 69-61 Time Warner Cable Classic championship game win over the Gauchos on Sunday. Richards was named tournament MVP after scoring 14 points in the final. sparks. The youngsters also had a hand in the team’s 19 turnovers and 24 personal fouls. But NU’s tenacious defense forced 22 UCSB turnovers on 35 percent shooting and wore down the Gauchos' nine-deep roster. Katye Christensen led the team with 22 points but didn’t have enough help to overcome NU’s savvy. “In practice, we don’t have to face someone who Please see WOMEN on 9 Collier era begins with loss to ORU BY JOSHUA CAMENZIND TULSA, Okla.—Nebraska’s season opening 87 83 loss to Oral Roberts on Saturday seemed com monplace. The Huskers traveled to the state of Oklahoma, committed is Nebraska 83 turnovers and J lost to a Sutton- Oral Roberts 87 coached team. The catch was NU wasn’t in Stillwater, and the coach was Scott Sutton, Eddie’s youngest son. However, the outcome was no different as NU failed to win on the road for the 13th straight time. The Huskers, without the suspended Kimani Ffriend and Rodney Fields, were also unable to start Barry Collier's debut season on the right foot “It would have been big,” said Cookie Belcher, who scored a career-high 27 points and had six assists to lead the Huskers. “We haven’t really dug ourselves a hole yet, but we are starting to dig." It was the Golden Eagles, not the Huskers, who dug themselves a hole early in front of3,459 fans at the Mabee Center as NU jumped out to a 6-0 lead behind three ORU turnovers. Nebraska extended its lead to 18-6 with 12:38 remaining and would gain a 12-point advantage twice more before Oral Roberts mounted its comeback. NU held a nine-point lead with 4:32 left in the first half after a Cary Cochran 3-pointer, but ORU would go on to outscore the Comhuskers 16-4 from that point to take a 41-38 advantage into halftime. “Human nature says, ‘Hey, we’re in control here and we were not,”’ Collier said. ORU’s Markius Barnes scored 19 of his career high 24 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles made 16 of 18 free throws and shot 47.8 percent to keep from getting blown out early. “They attacked better in the first half and we settled for perimeter shots,” said Collier, whose team shot 4-17 on 3-pointers. The second 20 minutes saw Oral Roberts gain eight point leads twice - the latest coming at 3:14 left in the game. NU slowly battled back and with 1:19 left, two free throws by Belcher cut the lead to three. Following an ORU turnover, Belcher missed and NU was forced to foul. ORU’s Evan Black made two free throws and it appeared the Husker’s fate was sealed. With four seconds remaining, Belcher was able to cut the lead back down to two with a 3-pointer. But Black hit two more, making Oral Roberts 22 of 25 from the Please see BASKETBALL on 9 Mens cross country to championships after surprise bid ■ Wittier and Carrizales look for high finishes at nationals after successful regular seasons BYJILLZEMAN Nebraska cross country run ners Aaron Carrizales and Marcus Witter have the chance today to end their running careers at NU in style. The pair of seniors, along with five other members of Nebraska’s it** v* cross country team, will compete at the NCAA Championships in Ames, Iowa for the first time since 1997. The men’s team squeaked into the 31-team roster after a fifth-place finish at last week’s NCAA Midwest Region meet in Waterloo, Iowa. To qualify for the event, teams across the nation are divided into nine regions, and the top two fin ishers of each region automati cally receive a bid for the meet. The 13 remaining slots are doled out to the rest of the teams, and the Huskers were surprised when they learned last Monday they’d qualified. But a solid season and high finishes by Carrizales and Witter pushed them to the front of the pack to join the big dance. Carrizales and Witter will be accompanied by a young, inexpe rienced team at the competition. Sophomores Jed Barta, Ian Gray and Mike Kamm and fresh men Kyle Wyatt and Eric Rasmussen round out the Husker roster for today’s race. Coach Jay Dirksen said after the regional competition, he did n’t think the Huskers would make the cut. But after looking at the results of the other regions, Dirksen said he was still hopeful the team would make it in. Thejcompetition will likely be dominated by top-ranked Colorado, but either No. 2 Stanford and No. 4 Providence could also take the crown. While a No. 1 finish probably won’t happen for the Huskers, Dirksen said he looked for Witter and Carrizales to end their run ning careers with a bang. An individual top-20 finish cinches All-American honors, something Witter has sought after through his running career, he said in an interview in September. “They definitely have the potential/' Dirksen said. A finish in the top 20 or 25 would please Dirksen, he said. Although the Huskers barely made it into the competition, Dirksen said he still thought the runners stand a good chance in the race. Nebraska has faced 23 of this year’s 31 competitors, defeating eight of them. “I don’t want to put any limits on us,” he said. “I just want go out and run our best”