Northern Kentucky University Athletics

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky women's soccer team opens a home weekend on Friday by welcoming in Great Lakes Valley Conference newcomer William Jewell. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.

A home match with Rockhurst will follow on Sunday, with that kickoff scheduled for noon. Live stats and audio for both games can be found at nkunorse.com.

The Norse (3-1, 1-1 GLVC) split last weekend's matches to open GLVC play. They defeated Kentucky Wesleyan 9-0 at home before falling to Southern Indiana on the road, 3-1. Allison Ponzer and Amanda Mason each had two goals in the win against Kentucky Wesleyan. Stacey Volker scored the lone goal in NKU's loss against Southern Indiana.

A WORD ABOUT THE CARDINALS: William Jewell (2-1, 1-1 GLVC) will face NKU for the first time in program history on Friday. The Cardinals claim a big-margin win of their own, defeating Culver-Stockton, 9-0, to open the season. Sarah Franklin posted a hat trick in that win and leads the team with six goals. Kelli Sontag has been the Cardinals' answer in net this year, claiming a 1.66 goals against average.

A WORD ABOUT THE HAWKS: Rockhurst (2-0-1, 1-0-1 GLVC) has been stalwart in its defense this season, having yet to surrender a goal in three games thus far. Lucy Sullivan has been the woman in charge between the posts, stopping all 10 shots to come her way so far this season. Taylor Skala leads the offense with a pair of goals. NKU claims an 8-1 edge in the all-time series between the teams, including a 2-0 win last year in Kansas City, Mo.

YOUTH MOVEMENT: Underclassmen Stacie Volker, Allison Ponzer, and Kelsey Laumann have provided an offensive force for the Norse. Volker, a freshman, leads the team with six goals. Ponzer, a sophomore, follows with five, and Laumann, another freshman, is tied for third with three goals.

OFFENSIVE FORCE: The Norse lead the nation in goals per game with a rate of 6.5. In their three wins, NKU has outscored their opponents 25-1, including 9-0 wins over Tiffin and Kentucky Wesleyan.

RETURN OF RACHAEL: Goalkeeper Rachael Wood made her season debut against Kentucky Wesleyan. She came in at the start of the second half and shutout the Panthers in 45 minutes of action.

CLIMBING THE RANKS: Amanda Mason has three goals on the season, giving her a career total of 37 tallies, tying her for fourth all-time at NKU. Mason needs three more goals to move into a tie for third place with Tricia Ruark at 40. NKU's all-time leading goal scorer is Betsy Moore, who scored 70 goals between 1998 and 2001.

REACHING FOR 250: Head Coach Bob Sheehan needs 11 wins this season 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 239-52-16. Sheehan entered the season ranked eighth all-time among Division II coaches for wins, with each of the top eight being active coaches.