The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team is slated for a pair of matches this weekend, beginning with its first Horizon League contest on Friday against Youngstown State at First National Bank Field at 7 p.m.
The Norse will then host nonconference opponent Toledo on Sunday at the NKU Soccer Complex in their first home game since Aug. 21. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and will air on the Horizon League Network on ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT: NKU last competed on Sept. 11 when it traveled to Illinois and fell to the Illini, 1-0. Goalkeeper Brooke Schocker faced 27 shots and recorded seven saves. Illinois found the back of the net in the 37th minute for the game’s only goal. NKU fought back with four second-half shots, including two shots on goal while looking for the equalizer.
ABOUT YOUNGSTOWN STATE: The Penguins (4-4-0) recovered from a four-game skid with a pair of wins last weekend against IPFW and Findlay to push Youngstown State to third in the Horizon League standings, while NKU sits in second. Sophomore Katie Hackos, this week’s Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week, is tied with Alison Green with a team-high five points. Goalkeeper minutes have been split between freshman Elizabeth Balgoyen (416:22) and junior Katie Montgomery (310:16).
ABOUT TOLEDO: The Rockets are 3-5-0 overall and 1-5 on the road. Toledo earned a pair of victories last weekend after defeating Horizon League teams Oakland and Wright State at home. The Rocket offense is paced by sophomore Isabella Echeverri with seven points, a pair of goals and three assists. Senior Sam Tiongson has logged a team-high 726:02 minutes between the posts this season and posted a shutout against Wright State.
NORSE NOTES:
The Norse are set to open conference play with a winning record for the second consecutive season. Last year, as a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, NKU opened conference action against USC Upstate sporting a 4-3-2 record.
NKU’s 2015 roster has a strong history against Youngstown State, with four current players scoring a goal against YSU in the teams’ only two meetings. During the 2012 season, the Norse defeated the Penguins, 2-1, on the road with now-senior Kelsey Laumann scoring a goal. Current seniors Kelsey Zwergel and Martha Staab each posted an assist in the victory. At home in 2013, Sami Rutowski, Katelyn Newton and Casey McMillan scored a goal for a 3-2 win. McMillan also added a pair of assists.
Sunday will be the first meeting between NKU and Toledo. The Norse have posted a 2-1 record against first-time opponents this season. Northern Kentucky has faced just two Mid-American Conference opponents in program history, Ball State and Miami (Ohio), for an overall record of 1-2 against the conference.
Goalkeepers Schocker and Kelly Neumann have combined to allow two goals in 450 total minutes, meanwhile the offense has scored a Horizon League-best 2.80 goals per game. Schocker boasts the best goals against average (0.44) and save percentage (.882) in the Horizon League. Strong performances on both sides of the ball have pushed NKU to out-score opponents 14-2 and out-shoot opponents 105-55.
Schocker is coming off a solid outing against Illinois, where she recorded seven saves and faced 27 shots. The redshirt junior entered the contest against Illinois with 26 total shots throughout the first four games and nearly doubled her total in the outing, bringing it to 50 on the season. Similarly, Shocker distributed eight saves across the first four matches before posting seven against Illinois.
In addition to goals per game, the NKU offense leads the Horizon League in assists (18) and assists per game (3.60) and is ranked second in points (46). Lifting NKU to its League-best marks is sophomore Macy Hamblin. Hamblin leads the Horizon League in shots with 32 and assists with four. The forward is second overall in points with eight.
UP NEXT: The Norse continue Horizon League play against UIC at home on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
NKU volleyball heads to Miami Invitational
The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team closes out its nonconference schedule this weekend at the Miami Invitational hosted at Millett Hall by Miami (Ohio).
The Norse will take on the host RedHawks on Friday at 7 p.m., and will close out the tournament at 10 a.m. on Saturday against IPFW. Friday’s match will be carried live on ESPN3, and links live stats for both matches will be available at NKUNorse.com.
TRAFFIC NOTICE: Norse fans planning to make the trip up to Oxford for the game should be aware of some major construction projects near the Miami University campus. This, combined with a RedHawks home football game on Saturday, could pose traffic challenges. Fans are advised to visit Miami’s construction updates page (http://www.muredhawks.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/construction-updates.html) for information on detours and other notices.
ABOUT MIAMI: The RedHawks enter the weekend with a 5-5 record after picking up wins over Montana State and Weber State at the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nevada. Earlier this season, Miami picked up a big 3-0 win on the road against then No. 19 Michigan State to bolster their resume. Leading the Miami offense is Paige Hill, who is averaging 2.26 kills per set on a .247 hitting percentage and 36 blocks. Kaite Tomasic is right behind with 2.08 kills per set. On the back row, Maeve McDonald is averaging four digs per set.
ABOUT IPFW: The Mastadons fell just short in their five-set comeback bid against Ball State on Wednesday, dropping to 2-10 on the season. Leading the way offensively for IPFW is Somer Johnson with just over four kills per set. Johnson is one of the most prolific attackers in the nation, ranking fourth in the country with 12.68 swings per set. Olivia Hahn spearheads the back-row defense with 4.59 digs per set, while Natasha Medic is averaging almost a block per set to lead the front row defense.
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse enter this weekend with a 5-5 record after sweeping the competition at the Dunn Hospitality Tournament. The Norse picked up four-set wins over Western Illinois and Jackson State before sweeping the hosts Evansville to claim the tournament championship.
ALL-TOURNAMENT EFFORT: Keely Creamer and Taylor Snyder each earned all-tournament honors last weekend at the Dunn Hospitality Tournament, hosted by Evansville. Creamer finished the weekend with 39 kills on an astounding .416 hitting percentage. Snyder averaged 11 assists per set over the weekend and now stands with a 10.25 assists per set mark, good for fourth among Horizon League setters.
JAYDEN CHASING 1,000: Jayden Julian enters the weekend with 973 career kills looking to become the 17th member of NKU’s 1,000-kill club. Julian averages 2.61 kills per set to rank third on the team. She would become NKU’s first 1,000-kill player since Shelby Buschur accomplished the feat in 2012.
KEYAIRA BLOCKS BETTER: Keyaira Lankheit put on a blocking clinic during last weekend’s action. Against Western Illinois, the freshman put down nine opposing attacks, sharing a season high for a Horizon League player and marking the best blocking effort by an NKU player in the Division I era. Her 33 total blocks on the season lead not only the team, but all Horizon League freshmen, and ranks fifth overall in the Horizon League with 0.92 blocks per set.
KEELY CRANKS IT UP: Keely Creamer has continued to set the pace for attacking for the Norse, as her 3.33 kills per set rank sixth in the conference, while her .325 hitting percentage ranks fifth. She has posted double-digit kills in seven of the team’s 10 matches so far this season.
FRESHMAN PHENOMS: Lankheit is not the only freshman lighting up the Horizon League, as Haley Libs is averaging three kills per set and leads all League freshman with 105 kills on the season. After her double-double performance last weekend, Libs came back with a 15-kill effort against Jackson State this weekend.
From NKU Athletics