The NKU men's soccer team can clinch the GLVC regular-season title on Wednesday with a victory at Bellarmine.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team controls its own destiny in the hunt for the Great Lakes Valley Conference regular-season championship entering Wednesday's final contest at Bellarmine.
The rivals will kickoff at 6:30 p.m. from Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Ky. With a win, NKU will secure the regular-season crown and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming GLVC Tournament.
The Norse (13-2, 11-2 GLVC) enter the midweek contest after having claimed a 1-0 win over Missouri-St. Louis on Friday.
Ben Rascona scored the game's only goal and
Ben Dorn made four saves, including a dramatic save just off the crossbar in the game's final seconds, to preserve the clean sheet.
A WORD ABOUT THE KNIGHTS: Bellarmine enters Wednesday's contest with plenty to play for. Currently tied for sixth in the conference standings at 8-5-1, a win guarantees the Knights a trip to postseason play, while a loss could knock them out altogether. Bellarmine is unbeaten in its last five games, including a scoreless draw against Missouri-St. Louis on Sunday.
The last time the Norse and Knights met,
Steven Beattie was NKU's only goal scorer in a 1-1 draw in Louisville.
STORIED RIVALRY: Wednesday will mark the 40th meeting between NKU and Bellarmine in men's soccer. The Norse hold a decided edge in the all-time series, 28-9-2, and have gone unbeaten in the last eight meetings between the teams.
TOP FIVE TEAM: Thanks to Friday's victory, NKU advanced two spots to No. 4 in this week's
NCAA Division II national poll. Simon Fraser, Franklin Pierce and Fort Lewis round out the top three, while GLVC foe Rockhurst checks in at No. 10.
NKU has been ranked in 65 of the last 66 national polls dating back to Oct. 3, 2006, and has been in the top 10 in each of the last 20 polls since opening the 2010 season with a No. 21 ranking.
REGIONAL STANDING: NKU has yet to budge from its No. 1 position in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings, released last week. While the rankings will be updated on Wednesday afternoon, there is little expectation of a shakeup among the top four in the Midwest. Saginaw Valley stands No. 2 in the region, with Rockhurst and Indianapolis rounding out the top four.
DEFENSE WINS: The Norse have put up some stout defensive numbers all season and are now ranked fifth nationally in goals against average (0.53) and sixth in shutout percentage (0.600). Conference rival Rockhurst leads the nation in both categories at 0.33 and .730, respectively.
