HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team returns to the road for Great Lakes Valley Conference action against Drury and Rockhurst this weekend.
NKU's game against Drury is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
The Norse (5-1, 2-1 GLVC) rebounded nicely with a pair of wins last weekend. NKU defeated GLVC preseason favorite Quincy, 1-0, thanks to an own goal by the Hawks in the second half.
Kelly Sullivan and
Lauren Franzen each scored two goals to power the Norse past Missouri S&T by a 6-1 score.
Jessica Page and
Kara Costello also got into the mix with goals of their own while
Amanda Mason added three assists.
The performance was good enough to get NKU back into the national rankings, returning to No. 20 after spending a week out of the NCAA Division II poll.
NKU closes out the weekend on Sunday, facing Rockhurst at 1 p.m. Eastern.
A WORD ABOUT DRURY: The Panthers enter Friday's contest with a 4-2-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the GLVC. All-time the Panthers are in rarified company, as their 2-1 all-time record against the Norse makes them one of just five schools that have played NKU more than once and own a winning record in the all-time series. The Panthers join Grand Valley State (2-1), Nebraska-Omaha (2-1), Tusculum (2-1) and UC-San Diego (2-0) in that distinction. The Panthers are led by Nicole Williams and Mandi Little, each of whom have four goals and one assist on the season.
A WORD ABOUT ROCKHURST: The Hawks enter the weekend at 5-1-1 overall, 2-0-1 in GLVC play. The Norse are perfect in all four meetings against Rockhurst, using a
Brandi Doss rebound last year to take a 1-0 decision in Kansas City. The Hawks are fresh off a 7-1 win over Kentucky Wesleyan, and are led by Amy Lindley, who has two goals and a GLVC-best nine assists for a team-best 13 points, while Lisa Schwarz has five goals to pace the scorers.
SPREADING THE LOVE: The Norse are one of two GLVC teams that can claim more assists than goals over the course of the 2008 season. NKU has collected 22 assists on their 20 goals, while conference leader Wisconsin-Parkside claims 33 assists on 27 goals this season. Rockhurst is even in the category, with 23 goals and 23 assists.
Amanda Mason, who had three assists against Missouri S&T, stands second in the conference with six helpers on the year.
TRIUMPHANT RETURN: NKU senior
Lauren Franzen, who saw limited action in the first three weeks of the year following a preseason injury, has come on strong in the past week, claiming two goals and an assist in the weekend's action against Missouri S&T. Her return gives the NKU offense, one of the more prolific in the league, a newfound strength going into the rest of the season.
SECOND-HALF SURGE: The Norse have made a habit of finding the chinks in the armor of opposing defenses late in games. Of NKU's 20 goals this season, 14 have been scored in the second half this season.
