HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team will open up their home and Atlantic Sun Conference schedules when it hosts Florida Gulf Coast University on Thursday evening. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Live stats and video links for the match can be found at nkunorse.com.
NKU (2-7) has played its first nine matches on the road. The Norse own wins over Belmont and Western Illinois, while six of their seven losses have come by one goal. The lone multi-goal loss came at the hands of High Point, who is now ranked No. 23 in the NSCAA/Continental Tire national poll.
Florida Gulf Coast (3-4-1) comes into Thursday's match with a deceptive below .500 record. The Eagles have played three ranked teams, including their season opening loss at No. 7 Akron. FGCU has defeated Bucknell, Iona, and South Carolina. Thursday's match will be FGCU's first since they were defeated 3-0 by No. 21 South Florida on Sept. 25.
The Eagles are led offensively by William Morse. He leads the team with three goals and seven points. Keeper Nathan Ingham has been in goal for all eight matches for FGCU and has a goals allowed average of 1.55. Ingham has recorded two shutouts.
HEAD COACH JOHN BASALYGA'S CORNER:
On the Bradley game: “Bradley has a great facility and a great atmosphere. They treated us extremely well, but they beat us 1-0 with a goal in the middle of the second half. They played well and we forced some issues. It was good to see what that next level of soccer was all about.”
On the play of
Christian Johnson and
Danny Laird: “They did a great job. Christian has been a great surprise. He's very athletic, very quick and a hard nosed kid. He plays with an edge all the time, and he's very explosive. We moved him to the back because of injuries, and he's been anchoring the defense. In the first couple weeks of the season, Danny didn't even get on the field. Now he's one of our mainstays in the back. He's a very physical center back.”
On the home opener: “We're not getting on the bus, and we don't know what to do with ourselves. It's good that they're going to be able to sleep in their own beds tonight. Now, they just have to get up and go to class. It's going to be a little bit different of a routine for them. Hopefully, people will come out and cheer these guys on, and hopefully we'll put on a good show.”
