Cassie Lingenhoel (23) and Rachael Wood have combined for seven shutouts in 12 games this season.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The No. 11 ranked Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team is gearing up for a top-25 clash against No. 19 Quincy this Friday in a Great Lakes Valley Conference showdown.
The Norse (11-1, 9-1 GLVC) will wrap up the weekend on Sunday at Illinois-Springfield. Links to live stats for each contest can be found on nkunorse.com.
NKU had another strong weekend in league play, taking a 7-1 win over Saint Joseph's before defeating Indianapolis, 2-0, to close out the weekend.
Allison Ponzer notched her first career hat trick and
Amanda Mason had two goals and two assists in Friday's win over Saint Joseph's. The Pumas got on the board just three minutes into the contest, but the Norse roared back for seven unanswered goals in the win.
On Sunday, Mason struck again with the game-winning goal against Indianapolis in the 41st minute.
Kristi Hofmeyer added an insurance goal with less than five minutes remaining in the contest to seal the deal.
A WORD ABOUT QUINCY: The 19th ranked Lady Hawks share the league's top spot with NKU, each sporting a 9-1 conference record. Quincy has been unstoppable on its home field, riding a 10-game home winning streak dating back to a 1-0 loss to NKU last season. Amiee Ubriaco has paced the Lady Hawks offense with five goals, but the hallmark of this team has been its defense, which has surrendered just three goals in 13 games. NKU owns the all-time series, 14-3-1, and has won the last five games against Quincy.
A WORD ABOUT ILLINOIS-SPRINGFIELD: The Prairie Stars will be fighting to keep themselves in contention for a postseason berth this weekend, entering play Friday with a 4-6-1 record and a 3-6-1 mark in league play. UIS split last weekend's action, taking a 3-0 result from Missouri S&T before falling at Drury, 2-0. Erin Egolf leads the Prairie Star offense with six goals while Hannah Fyfe has dished out four assists. NKU has won both meetings between the teams, outscoring UIS by a 12-0 margin.
PLAYER(S) OF THE WEEK(S): Amanda Mason was once again named the GLVC Player of the Week after her three goal, three assist weekend against Saint Joseph's and Indianapolis. It was the second time Mason has been so honored this season, and the fourth time in six weeks that any NKU player has received the award. Freshmen
Stacie Volker and
Kelsey Laumann also lay claim to GLVC Player of the Week awards.
THE BEST AROUND: Mason has made her mark as one of the top strikers in all of Division II this season. Entering this weekend, Mason leads all of Division II in total points (36) and points per game (3.0). She is also second in total goals (13) and third in total assists (10).
YOUTH UPRISING: NKU's underclassman strikers have found their nose for the net early in their careers as sophomore
Allison Ponzer and freshmen
Kelsey Laumann and
Stacie Volker have combined for 21 of NKU's 53 goals.
OFFENSIVE OUTPOURING: The Norse have scored 53 goals this season in 12 games, an average of 4.42 goals per game to lead all NCAA Division II teams. The next-highest ranked GLVC team is Wisconsin-Parkside, which has averaged 2.5 goals per game to rank 24th nationally.
REACHING FOR 250: Head Coach
Bob Sheehan needs just three more wins to reach the 250-win mark at NKU. The only head coach in NKU program history; he enters this weekend with a coaching record of 247-52-16. Sheehan entered the season ranked eighth all-time among Division II coaches for wins, with each of the top eight being active coaches.
