Following a 3-2-1 nonconference run, Indiana women's soccer travels to Lincoln, Nebraska, for its first Big Ten match against Nebraska on Thursday.
Indiana enters the match after a 3-2 win over Ohio University on Sept. 6, which snapped a two-game losing streak. The Hoosiers came out hot, as goals from junior Bella Haggerty and sixth-year midfielder Jenna Chatterton put the Hoosiers up 2-0 within the first 15 minutes of the match. Senior defender Piper Coffield piled on to the Hoosiers goals, sending her shot into the bottom right corner in the 74th minute.
This victory marked Indiana second-year head coach Josh Rife's first road win at the helm. Rife hopes to add another against Nebraska.
However, Nebraska leads the Cream and Crimson 10-1-1 in the all-time matchup. Considering Rife's record on the road, the challenge becomes even tougher — the Cornhuskers are a perfect 6-0 at home against the Hoosiers, outscoring Indiana 16-6 across their six past home matches.
In the two programs’ last match on Oct. 27, 2024, the Hoosiers fell to the Cornhuskers 3-1 to close a lackluster 6-9-2 2024 season.
Coming into Thursday’s matchup, Nebraska is 2-1-3 after drawing its non-conference finale against Kansas State University 0-0. Against the Wildcats, the Cornhuskers attempted 15 shots — close to their average of 17.5 attempted shots per game. Indiana will attempt to break through a Nebraska defense that allows 9.8 shots per game.
Nebraska’s offense is led by senior forward Nathalie Lewis, who has recorded two goals in the six games she’s started. Sophomore forward Carson Bohonek has added two goals off the bench. The duo has the highest joint goals scored on the team.
Nebraska is led by 33rd-year head coach John Walker, who comes into this season with a 381-209-70 record. Walker is tied for 11th in victories among all active coaches and is the only coach Nebraska women’s soccer has ever had. He has led the Cornhuskers to two Big Ten regular season titles and one Big Ten tournament title.
Senior goalkeeper Avery Gillahan has been a consistent anchor in goal for Nebraska, playing the third-most minutes of Big Ten goalies with 537:46 minutes recorded. In that time, Gillahan has recorded a 0.800 save percentage with 20 saves so far this season.
Fifth-year goalkeeper Dani Jacobson has been Indiana's primary goalkeeper for the regular season, recording a 0.250 save percentage across the six starts. But in the Hoosiers’ last match against Ohio, senior goalkeeper Emma Payton started the second half in goal. Payton immediately made an impact, saving two shots that came her way.
Indiana senior midfielder Kennedy Neighbors has provided a consistent spark on offense for the Hoosiers, having scored two goals and assisted one, while Coffield has also netted two. Freshman forward Amaya Falzarano has risen to a role in the starting lineup as well after showing impressive offensive ability in the early stages of the season.
Indiana is set to kick off against Nebraska at 8:05 p.m. Thursday with coverage available on B1G+.
Follow reporters Will Kwiatkowski (@WKwiatkowski_15 and wdkwiatk@iu.edu) and Leonardo Vesperini (@leovmedia and lvesperi@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana women’s soccer season.
