Nebraska women’s soccer focusing on consistency this spring after nearly returning full roster

The Nebraska soccer team continues its spring exhibition season Sunday, which is a key component of training for the fall. The preseason in early August is short, so there isn’t a lot of time for preparation before real competition begins.

“You’re playing an exhibition game within a week, and you’re playing a regular-season game within two weeks,” head coach John Walker said. “So your real progress has to be done basically January through the end of April.”

Nebraska is a program that emphasizes player development, and the offseason is when most of that takes place.

“We’re a development-driven program,” Walker said. “So we run regular practices, big emphasis on technical development, big emphasis on analysis and feedback.”

The Huskers bring back nearly the entire roster and almost all key contributors from 2022, including leading goal-scorer Sarah Weber and goalkeeper Sami Hauk.

Walker said this allows NU to have regular spring practices and get in 11-on-11 work, as opposed to some springs in which the returning roster is large enough only for 6-on-6 or 7-on-7 drills.

“Two players will join us in the summer, but basically the whole team is here now,” Walker said. “So I think it’s massive that way just from a development and then continuity and planning standpoint.”

Half of Nebraska’s roster is made up of homegrown, in-state players. Walker believes this has helped form a strong team chemistry.

“It’s nice to have any players that have grown up around the program,” he said. “A lot of our key players are from within the state.”

As with any team, the Huskers emphasize certain things more than others. Walker named two key attributes that dictate NU’s success.

“The No. 1 thing is competitiveness, and trying to get that as the foundation for a lot of what we do,” he said. “If you have days where your passing is not quite right or the execution is not quite there, you always have the competitive component.”

The second key for the Huskers is consistency, specifically in maintaining a high level of play across multiple games.

“We had games last fall where, within a week, we could beat a top team by several goals but then lose within the same week,” Walker said. “So keeping the competitive part and becoming more consistent.”

Nebraska ended the 2022 season with a sour taste in its mouth, falling 2-1 to Michigan State in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament. Walker said the Huskers will use it as motivation, but will not overly dwell on it.

“You don’t want to get caught too much being historical,” he said. “But on the flip side, this was such a young group, and they all return so they have the same experience. All the players who were on the field are all back again.”

The Huskers will play a doubleheader Sunday in Omaha with matches against Omaha at 1 p.m. and Iowa Western at 3 p.m.