Morgan Marlborough became just the third freshman in league history to earn the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year award, as the conference announced her as the winner of the 2009 honor on Wednesday. Marlborough was also named Big 12 Rookie of the Year as she led three Huskers to All-Big 12 accolades, joining senior Carly Peetz (All-Big 12 First Team) and sophomore Molly Thomas (All-Big 12 Second Team).

Marlborough is the sixth Husker to win a player-of-the-year honor and the first to do so since Brittany Timko in 2006. The Lee’s Summit, Mo., native led the Big 12 Conference with 21 goals and ranked fifth-place tie for assists with seven. Marlborough separated herself from the rest of the Big 12 field in scoring, as her 21 goals and 49 points were well ahead of the league’s second-highest scorer, Oklahoma’s Whitney Palmer (15 goals, 32 points). Marlborough entered this week tied for the NCAA goal-lead with Portland’s Danielle Foxhaven. This year, she produced two hat tricks, including a school-record four goals against Akron, and broke the NU freshman single-season goal record just 14 games into the season. She ranks fourth and fifth all-time on the Husker single-season goal and point charts.

Peetz earned the third All-Big 12 award of her career, as she was on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team in 2006 and a Second-Team All-Big 12 pick in 2008. The defender has had her best offensive season this fall, scoring four goals and adding three assists. She has started every game of her Husker career, a streak of 79 that is tied for the eighth-most starts in NU history.

Thomas is an All-Big 12 honoree for the second consecutive year, as she was part of the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team in 2008. This year, the sophomore ranks sixth in the conference in goals (8) and seventh in assists (6). The Omaha, Neb., native ended the regular season on a very strong note against Iowa State, scoring the tying goal with 18 minutes remaining and contributing the game-winning assist in overtime.

With Marlborough and Peetz, Nebraska now has 42 first-team honors all-time and 67 spots on the all-conference teams overall. The Huskers have had at least three All-Big 12 selections 12 times in the 14-year history of the program.

Courtesy: NU Media Relations