The NKU men's soccer team will have a clearer picture of its standing in the GLVC after this weekend's action on the road at Saint Joseph's and Indianapolis.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team goes away from the NKU Soccer Stadium for a two game swing through Indiana this weekend. The Norse take on Saint Joseph's on Friday and Indianapolis on Sunday.
Friday's kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. while Sunday's start is slated for 2:30 p.m.
The Norse (9-1 overall, 7-1 Great Lakes Valley Conference) picked up two GLVC wins this past weekend over Wisconsin-Parkside and Lewis, beating each opponent by a score of 1-0.
Kevin Donnelly scored a screamer from 25 yards out off a corner kick to beat Parkside on Friday. On Sunday,
Mohammad Salhieh scored another long distance goal to defeat Lewis. The goal came 32 seconds after Salhieh was substituted into the game.
A WORD ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: The Pumas enter Friday's contest with a 4-4-2 record, and a 4-2-2 mark in conference play. This past weekend, the Pumas defeated Kentucky Wesleyan in overtime and drew with Southern Indiana. The Pumas are led in scoring by Kevin Amaizo who has five goals. Cole Galloway follows with four. NKU has dominated the all-time series, 22-2-3, though one of those losses came just two seasons ago, a 2-1 defeat at home.
A WORD ABOUT INDIANAPOLIS: The Greyhounds are 8-2 overall this year and enter the weekend tied with the Norse for the top spot in the GLVC at 7-1. Indianapolis defeated Southern Indiana and Kentucky Wesleyan last weekend. Bobby Adkins leads the Greyhounds with 13 points in eight matches.
Last season, the Norse defeated the Greyhounds 3-0 in the championship game of the GLVC Tournament, pushing NKU's all-time record against Indianapolis to 22-6-1.
MOVING UP: Northern Kentucky moved up in the national poll to No. 4, after spending last week in the No. 10 spot. GLVC opponent Rockhurst debuted in the poll this week, ranking No. 23.
SUPER SUB SALHIEH: Sophomore
Mohammad Salhieh has come off the bench in all nine of his games and leads the Norse with four goals and four assists. In addition to his 12 points, Salhieh has two game-winning goals to his credit.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE: The Norse have allowed just five goals in 10 games this season. Their 0.5 goals allowed average ranks second in the GLVC and seventh in all of Division II.
Goalkeepers
Sanjit Kang and
Ben Dorn, along with the back four of
Kevin Donnelly,
Anthony Meyer,
Tommy Barrick, and
Ian O'Reilly have been spectacular this season, leading the conference in shutouts with seven.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: Northern Kentucky leads the conference with a per-game attendance of 519 at the NKU Soccer Stadium. The Norse are a perfect 5-0 at home this season. Last season, NKU averaged 510 fans at each home game, ranking fourth in the nation in that category.
