WILDER, Ky. - When the NCAA Division II national poll is released Tuesday, look for the Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team to be ranked No. 1 in the nation.
After winning twice this weekend, including Sunday night's 2-0 victory against Findlay, No. 3 NKU appears to be vaulting to the top of the poll. That's because nation's top two squads suffered setbacks this weekend.
Top-ranked Lincoln Memorial played a 2-2 tie against Bellarmine, while No. 2 Midwestern (Texas) State lost to Colorado Mines, 2-1. A year ago, NKU spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in the national poll. The Norse were perfect in the regular season (18-0) last fall and finished with a 22-2 record.
The Norse (4-0) dominated the Town & Country Sports Complex field against Findlay (1-2) on Sunday night and received goals from
Eric Ashworth and
Steven Beattie to extend their regular-season winning streak to 26 games. NKU is also unbeaten in its last 32 contests (31-0-1).
The Norse's last regular-season loss was on Sept. 15, 2006, when Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T) defeated NKU, 2-1.
NKU finished with a 35-4 edge in shots Sunday night and a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Norse goalie
Michael Lavric recorded one save and the shutout, while the NKU defense controlled the field throughout the game.
Seth Eckerlin and
Tony Ray assisted Ashworth's first-half goal, while Alex Oswein picked up the helper on Beattie's sixth goal of the season in the second half.
NKU hits the road for a pair of games next weekend, beginning with a Friday contest at Wisconsin-Parkside. The Norse also meet No. 11 Lewis next Sunday at Romeoville, Ill.
The NKU/Lewis game is a rematch of last season's Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship, which the Flyers won, 1-0. The Norse defeated the Flyers in the regular season last fall, 1-0, at Wilder, Ky.
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