2015 Nebraska Soccer
11 ncaa tournament appearances
290 all-time victories
10 conference championships
beyond nebraska
Huskers in the World Cup
Beginning in 1991, the best women's soccer players in the world have battled for the Women's World Cup every four
years in front of hundreds of thousands of soccer fans in stadiums across the globe.
Canada is one of 16 teams that qualified for World Cup competition in 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015 thanks in
large part to former Huskers filling the Canadian roster.
Husker Head Coach John Walker made his debut with the Canadian World Cup team as an assistant coach in 1999.
He was joined on that team by five of his former NU athletes.
In 2003, seven former and future Huskers made the 20-player roster. The Husker-heavy squad played to the semifinal
match, where it was defeated by Sweden, putting it up against the United States in the consolation finals where it
lost 3-1. Four Huskers earned roster spots in 2007, while Karina LeBlanc and Brittany Timko returned to the squad in
2011. LeBlanc made her final appearance on the grand stage at the 2015 World Cup in Canada before announcing her
retirement. Joining her on the 2015 Canadian squad for the first time was Selenia Iacchelli, a national team member
since 2013.
Despite a rich Husker history rooted in Canadian soil, former defender Ari Romero earned her place on Mexico’s World
Cup roster for 2015, becoming the first Husker to represent a country other than Canada.
In all, 11 former Huskers have played on women’s soccer’s grandest stage in the Women’s World Cup.
2015 Women’s World Cup
Former Huskers Karina LeBlanc and Selenia Iacchelli saw action on the pitch as Canada played in the Group A squad
with the Republic of China, New Zealand and the Netherlands.The 2015 World Cup marked LeBlanc’s fifth consecutive
appearance as a part of the Canadian National Team, while Iacchelli made strides in her first World Cup showing. Ari
Romero played as a key member of the Mexican National Team’s defense, leading Mexico in games against France,
England and Colombia in the Group F division. In addition to the former Husker players, ex-Husker star Christine Latham
returned to the games as a color analyst for Fox Sports Canada.
2011 Women’s World Cup
Brittany Timko and Karina LeBlanc returned to the 2011 World Cup as part of Canada’s National Team. The Canadians
were put in Group A with France, Nigeria and host-team, Germany. Canada opened with a 2-1 loss to Germany and was
then shut out by France, 4-0. The team’s final match with Nigeria was scoreless until the 73rd minute when Perpetua
Nkwocha scored the only goal of the game to give Nigeria a 1-0 win.
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2007 Women's World Cup
Four former NU greats made repeat appearances on the 2007 Canadian National Team. Tanya Dennis saw the most
game action, as she appeared in three matches, while Brittany Timko and Amy Walsh each played in one game. Karina
LeBlanc rounded out the Huskers to make the squad. Canada failed to advance past pool play, losing 2-1 to Norway to
open the World Cup, before rebounding with a 4-0 win over Ghana. Canada scored just 37 seconds into its third match,
but Australia rebounded to tie the game at two. The tie provided Australia the one point it needed to advance into the
quarterfinals and edge out Canada.
2003 Women's World Cup
Former Huskers Brittany Timko, Tanya Dennis and Sasha Andrews all saw action on the pitch for Canada in its fourthplace finish in the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the Canadian’s best finish in history.
Timko played all 540 minutes in six contests of the World Cup and notched one assist in the tournament. Dennis
played 450 minutes in the back in the first five games before suffering a concussion.
Former Husker All-American Christine Latham was responsible for three of Canada’s 10 goals during the tournament,
including two goals [