Northern Kentucky University’s women’s soccer team looks to extend its four-game win streak on Friday, Sept. 4 when it plays host to Xavier at NKU Soccer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will air on the Horizon League Network on ESPN3.
Fans ages 12 and under who arrive in their club or school jersey will receive free admission. All fans will also receive a 2015 NKU women’s soccer schedule poster while supplies last.
The Norse earned a pair of shutout victories over The Citadel and Charleston Southern by scores of 4-0 and 1-0.
Against The Citadel, redshirt junior Aubrey Muench scored a pair of goals to lead the Norse to their victory over the Bulldogs. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Brooke Schocker shared time in goal with junior Kelly Neumann for the duo’s second combined shutout of the season.
At Charleston Southern, Schocker recorded four saves en route to posting the shutout. Following a defensive battle in the first half, junior Katelyn Newton netted her first goal of the season on an assist from sophomore Jessica Frey just 50 seconds into the start of the second half for the 1-0 win.
The Musketeers (2-2) are coming off a 2-0 victory over Toledo at home and a 2-1 loss at Morehead State last weekend. Sophomore Kenadie Carlson was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll after collecting three points on a goal and an assist. Carlson is tied with Tori Doss with a team-high six points. Rachel Piccus has logged all of Xavier’s minutes in goal, totaling 362:42. In that time, she has recorded 21 saves and owns a .724 save percentage.
NKU has battled Xavier – head coach Bob Sheehan’s alma mater – three times with two of the contests going into overtime. Last season, the Norse and Musketeers played to a 1-1 draw at NKU Soccer Stadium. In the teams’ first meeting in 2012, the Norse fell, 1-0, in overtime in front of 1,104 fans, the fifth-largest crowd at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
NKU’s 4-0 streak to open the 2015 slate is the strongest season-opening record since the Norse won six-straight at the beginning of the 2007 campaign. The streak is also tied for the best in a Division I season.
UP NEXT: The Norse will take a week off before traveling to Illinois on Friday, Sept. 11. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. at the Illinois Soccer Stadium. The match will serve as the final nonconference tune-up before the Norse open Horizon League play for the first time on Sept. 18 at Youngstown State.
NKU men’s soccer set for two matches at Hartwick College Mayor’s Cup
The Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team (1-1-0) returns to the pitch for two matches this weekend at the Hartwick College Mayor’s Cup. The Norse will face Saint Francis University (Pa.) (0-0-1) on Friday at 5 p.m., then play Bucknell (1-1-0) on Sunday at noon.
Saint Francis entered the 2015 season as the 2014 Northeast Conference defending regular-season champions. In 2014, SFU finished the regular season 13-6-1 and 6-1-0 in NEC play. Entering his ninth season as head coach, Michael Casper holds a record of 71-62-21 at the helm for the Red Flash. SFU opened the season on August 28, battling Loyola (MD) to a 0-0 tie.
Bucknell is coming off a successful 2014 campaign that saw the squad win the Patriot League championship and earn a berth in the 2014 College Cup. Last season Bucknell finished the year 10-10-3 and 4-3-2 in Patriot League play.
So far this season the Bison are 1-1-0 defeating La Salle, 4-2, on August 28, and losing to Syracuse 0-1 (OT) on August 30. In his 17th season as head coach, Brendan Nash has amassed a record of 154-125-41 as head coach.
\In its last outing NKU defeated first-time opponent Memphis, 1-0. Memphis was the first of seven first-time opponents on the Norse’s slate in 2015. The other six include SFU, Bucknell, UIC, Valparaiso, Evansville and Milwaukee.
The Norse are in the middle of an eight-game road stretch to open the 2015 season. NKU will not play its home opener until September 30, when it faces Belmont in its first-ever Horizon League tilt.
In NKU’s 1-0 win over Memphis on Aug. 31, goalkeeper A.J. Fleak notched his 11th career shutout. Fleak’s 11 shutouts now ranks fifth all-time in program history. In two matches this season, Fleak has recorded nine saves bringing his career total to 164 saves moving him into seventh all time in program history.
Following NKU’s two-game swing in New York, the Norse will return to action at IPFW on Sept. 13, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
Northern Kentucky volleyball heads west for Cougar Classic this weekend
The Northern Kentucky University volleyball team hits the road once more for nonconference action in Edwardsville, Illinois, where the Norse will take part in the Cougar Classic, hosted by SIU Edwardsville.
ABOUT LOUISIANA TECH: The Lady Techsters took a 3-1 win over Jackson State on Tuesday evening to run their record to .500 entering this weekend’s action. Angela Papach leads the way for Tech offense at 2.79 kills per set. Hannah McRee’s seven blocks lead the defense at the net, while Alejandra Aviles has averaged 3.86 digs per set on the back row.
ABOUT ARKANSAS: The season’s opening weekend saw the Razorbacks, at home, take straight-set wins over McNeese State and Army before falling to Kansas. Pilar Victoria’s 49 kills (4.45/set) led the way as the junior took almost half of the team’s swings on the weekend. Kori Ortiz averaged four digs per set to pace the back row and Chanell Clark-Bibbs averaged better than a block per set.
ABOUT SIUE: The Cougars stand at 1-2 on the season, opening with a win over Akron before dropping matches against Drake and DePaul. Kristen Torre leads the offense from the middle, collecting 39 kills on a .440 hitting percentage. Carley Ramich is averaging a block per set, while Katie Shashack has 45 digs so far this season.
1,000 DIGS: Senior libero Mel Stewart eclipsed a milestone on Saturday when she became the 17th member of NKU’s 1,000-dig club. Stewart entered the season with 970 digs in her career and has picked up 40 so far in three matches. The performance puts her 15th all-time at NKU and 25 digs behind Tristen Dye (2004-07) for 14th on the list. Jenny Jeremiah (1996-99) holds NKU’s career record with 2,050 digs.
1,000 KILLS…ALMOST: Jayden Julian has pushed past 900 kills on her career after the first weekend of 2015 and has her eye on the 1,000-kill club herself, standing 98 kills short of the mark. Sixteen other players in NKU history have amassed 1,000 kills during their careers, the most recent being Shelby Buschur (2009-12), who finished with 1,206. The record is held by current NKU head coach Liz Hart (2004-07), who had 1,850 over her career.
BACK TO EDWARDSVILLE: This weekend will mark the first time that NKU has taken the court at the Vadalabene Center since the 2007 season, when NKU and SIUE were both Division II members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Current NKU coach, then sophomore, Liz Hart picked up seven kills and five blocks as the Norse fell short, 3-0 (30-25, 30-24, 30-26).
From NKU Athletics