The Nebraska Cornhuskers women's soccer team competes as part of NCAA Division I, representing the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska has played its home games at Barbara Hibner Soccer Stadium since 2015.
The program has been coached by John Walker since its establishment in 1994. Nebraska finished 23âÂÂ1âÂÂ0 and reached the national quarterfinal in 1996, the beginning of a five-year stretch in which NU achieved most of its national success. The program has reached in thirteen NCAA Division I tournaments and won a combined eleven conference championships across the Big 12 and Big Ten. Eleven former Cornhuskers have competed in the FIFA Women's World Cup, most of them for Walker's native Canada. Christine Latham and Brittany Timko are enshrined in the Nebraska Athletic Hall of Fame.
In 1994, Nebraska became the first Big Eight school to add women's soccer as a varsity sport. NU hired John Walker to lead the new program on the recommendation of Bret Simon, a men's assistant at nearby Creighton. Walker historically advocated an aggressive attack, often playing with four forwards during his early years in Lincoln. He is the only women's soccer coach Nebraska has ever had and one of the longest-tenured head coaches in school history.
Nebraska played as an independent until the Big 12 was formed in 1996. NU began its first season in the new conference 21âÂÂ0âÂÂ0, winning the Big 12 regular season and tournament before defeating Minnesota in sudden-death overtime in its first-ever NCAA Division I tournament game, later falling to third-ranked Portland in the NCAA Division I quarterfinal. It was the first of five consecutive national top-ten finishes, but an elimination on penalty kicks against Notre Dame in 1999 and an upset loss to Connecticut in 2000 ended the most successful stretch in program history without a national title.
Nebraska's Big 12 dominance waned in the early 2000s and its ten-year NCAA tournament streak ended in 2006. The program has reached the tournament just three times since joining the Big Ten in 2011, winning two regular-season conference titles and the 2013 Big Ten tournament. After six consecutive seasons with fewer than ten wins, Nebraska reached the national quarterfinal in 2023 before falling to Stanford in extra time; forward Eleanor Dale became the first Cornhusker to lead the country in goals.
Nebraska hosted its first seven home matches at Whittier Field, a public park just east of campus, before moving to the Abbott Sports Complex in 1995. The Abbott Sports Complex, located miles from campus, hosted the program for ten years and was the site of a program attendance record of 4,830, a 1âÂÂ1 draw between NU and second-ranked North Carolina in 2002. The university constructed additional soccer facilities in the Hawks Championship Center as part of a 2005 Memorial Stadium renovation, allowing the program to move on-campus to the Nebraska Soccer Field at Ed Weir Stadium. Ed Weir Stadium was among the smallest soccer venues in the Big Ten.
In 2015, Nebraska constructed Barbara Hibner Soccer Stadium just north of the Bob Devaney Sports Center and adjacent to Nebraska Innovation Campus. Hibner Stadium was built as part of a $20.4-million soccer and tennis complex, and has a listed capacity of 2,500 with 1,800 permanent seats. It is named for former administrator Barbara Hibner, who was integral to the introduction of soccer as a varsity sport at NU and died in 2007.
Nebraska has appeared in thirteen NCAA Division I tournaments with a record of 19âÂÂ12âÂÂ2.
Eleven former Nebraska players have represented their country in the FIFA Women's World Cup. Ten of these competed for Canada, a country that Ontario native John Walker recruited heavily. NU hosted a scrimmage against the Canadian national team prior to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup.