Kristi Hofmeyer prepares to score the first goal Friday with a header.
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Box score
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Any victory is sweet, but this one probably had more of a sugary coating than usual for the Northern Kentucky University women's soccer program.
NKU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead and held on for a 3-2 victory against defending Great Lakes Valley Conference champion Wisconsin-Parkside on Friday night. A year ago, the Norse were 0-2-1 against the Rangers, including a loss in the GLVC Tournament finals and then elimination from the NCAA Division II Tournament during a penalty-kick shootout.
Those facts provided 19th-ranked NKU with plenty of motivation Friday night. The Norse (8-1 overall, 6-1 GLVC) struck at the 15:10 mark when
Kristi Hofmeyer (12 pictured left) headed in a shot off a perfectly placed corner kick by
Hannah Adams.
Four minutes later, NKU extended its lead to 2-0 after
Kelsey Laumann finished off a cross from
Allison Ponzer right in front of the goal.
Kelsey Zwergel began the play and also received an assist for the Norse, who took the two-goal lead into intermission.
Wisconsin-Parkside (5-2, 5-2 GLVC) finally scored early in the second half when Shannon Becker tallied her fifth goal of the season by sending a bouncing ball past NKU keeper
Rachael Wood. Laumann, however, countered at the 56:20 mark by sending an 18-yard shot into the back of the net off an assist from Ponzer to extend the Norse advantage to 3-1.
Laumann upped her season total to six goals, while Ponzer now has eight assists.
Kristen Benson scored a goal at the 60:31 mark to cut the NKU lead to 3-2, and the Rangers kept the pressure on the defense much of the final 20 minutes of play. The Norse, however, kept the visitors from finding the tying marker and extended their current winning streak to five.
Wisconsin-Parkside finished with an 11-9 edge in shot attempts, including a 10-3 advantage in the second half. NKU owned an 8-3 edge in corner kicks, with seven of those in the first half.
NKU is now 11-8-3 all-time against Wisconsin-Parkside.
The Norse play host to Lewis at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
