The NKU women's soccer team will honor its seven seniors on Sunday before the game against Mercer.
Atlantic Sun Week 8 Notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team returns to the NKU Soccer Stadium for its final home weekend of the season as the Norse host Kennesaw State (Friday) and Mercer (Sunday).
NKU faces Kennesaw State on Friday with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. The Norse will honor their seniors on Sunday before taking the field against Mercer at noon.
NKU enters the contests 4-8 overall and 1-3 in the Atlantic Sun Conference after splitting a pair of conference games last weekend.
Kathryn Hale scored the game-winning goal to help the Norse claim a 1-0 victory over Stetson before suffering a 6-0 loss against Florida Gulf Coast.
The Norse have never faced Kennesaw State or Mercer in women's soccer.
Live stats and video will be available for the weekend's action at nkunorse.com.
ABOUT KENNESAW STATE: Kennesaw State is 5-6-1 overall, 1-1-1 in theA-Sun. The Owls earned a 3-0 victory over USC Upstate on Sunday afterdropping a 3-1 decision against East Tennessee State on Friday.
Danielle Gray leads the Kennesaw State offense with 14 points. She has started every contest for the Owls while collecting a team-high sixgoals and adding two assists on the season. Her goal total ranks third in the A-Sun. Katrina Frost, who was chosen as the Atlantic Sun Preseason Player of the Year, is second on the team with four goals and three assists.
Melissa Hutto has collected 41 saves and two shutouts this season in goal for Kennesaw State. She has faced 140 shots and only surrendered 11 goals.
ABOUT MERCER: Mercer holds an 8-3-2 overall record and are 2-0-1 in A-Sun action before traveling to Lipscomb on Friday night. Last weekend, the Bears earned wins against USC Upstate (3-0) and East TennesseeState (3-1). Tess Patton scored three goals and added an assist over the two games to lead Mercer to the victories.
Lauren Gassie has netted a team-high six goals and collected 15 points to lead the Bear offense, while Danielle Hesse has added three goals and a team-leading four assists on the year.
Goalies Maggie Cropp and Nikki Atkinson have split time in goal this season for the Bears. Cropp's 0.48 goals against average leads the A-Sun. She has recorded 21 saves while Atkinson has collected 22 thisseason. Together, Cropp and Atkinson have earned three shutouts.
BLACKOUT/KICKS AND KOOZIES NIGHT: Fans are encouraged to wearblack to Friday's game against Kennesaw State, and koozies will be handed out as well. In order to receive a koozie, fans must be wearing black.
SENIOR DAY: Hannah Adams,
Stephanie Glass,
Kathryn Hale,
Cassie Lingenhoel,
Elise Schmuelling,
Sarah Smith and
Stephanie Wengert will be honored prior to Sunday's match against Mercer. These seven have led the Norse to a 56-14-4 record entering Friday's match against Kennesaw State. They helped NKU advance to the NCAA Division II national tournament three times and capture the 2009 Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament title.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach
Bob Sheehan
On
Kathryn Hale's goal against Stetson: “Kathryn played great, and it was a terrific goal. The ball was played into Martha (Staab), and Martha played the ball into Kathryn for a one-touch finish. We were thrilled with the victory.”
On Sunday's match against Florida Gulf Coast: “They were a terrific team. We were really excited with the team's performance on Friday night and, obviously, a little disappointed with our efforts on Sunday. We cannot take anything away from Florida Gulf Coast because they were a terrific team.”
On the final home games of the season this weekend: “It has been an unusual year for us. We have not had many opportunities to play at home, so we are thrilled. Anytime we get to play at home is a great opportunity for us and the girls enjoy it.”
On the mounting injuries: “Everybody tends to get banged up at this time of the year. Unfortunately, some of our key players may or may not be on thefield for us, but all the teams have to face that obstacle. We have areally great group of young ladies, and they continue to work hard for us.”
