Atlantic Sun Week 7 Notes
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team hits the road this weekend to play Stetson University and Florida Gulf Coast University in Atlantic Sun Conference action.
NKU faces Stetson on Friday night in DeLand, Fla., at the Stetson Soccer Complex at 7 p.m. The Norse then travel south to Fort Myers, Fla., to take on Florida Gulf Coast at 1 p.m. on Sunday at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
The Norse enter the weekend 3-7 overall, 0-2 in the Atlantic Sun after dropping two conference games last weekend, both determined by one goal.
Kelsey Zwergel scored the lone NKU goal in a 2-1 loss to Jacksonville on Friday night and added her second goal of the season as the Norse fell 3-2 in overtime to North Florida on Sunday.
NKU has never faced Stetson or Florida Gulf Coast in women's soccer.
Live stats will be available for both matches this weekend along with video for the Stetson game at nkunorse.com.
ABOUT STETSON: Stetson is 3-7 overall and 1-1 in the Atlantic Sun. The Hatters are coming off a 2-0 victory over USC Upstate on Sunday afternoon after suffering a 3-1 loss to East Tennessee State on Friday night.
Alyssa Welsh leads the Stetson offense with three goals on the season, including a two-goal effort on Aug. 25 against Embry-Riddle. Mara Keomanivane and Amber Grose are second on the team with four points each. Keomanivane has added two goals for Stetson, while Grose has a goal and two assists through the first ten games.
Victoria Troccoli has started nine games this season in goal for the Hatters. She has collected 44 saves on the season while holding a 2.22 goals allowed average.
ABOUT FLORIDA GULF COAST: Florida Gulf Coast holds a 7-2-2 record overall and is 2-0 in Atlantic Sun play before the Eagles host Lipscomb on Friday evening. FGCU defeated USC Upstate (2-0) and ETSU (2-1) last weekend. Ally Kasun collected a goal and two assists to lead the Eagles to the wins.
Kasun and Shannen Wacker lead the offense for the Eagles with 11 total points on the season. Wacker has scored a team-high five goals, including two against ETSU on Sunday. Kasun has collected three goals and five assists.
Ashley Ciesielczyk and Brittany Brown lead the Florida Gulf Coast defense. Ciesielczyk was named the Atlantic Sun Preseason Defensive Player of the Year. She has started every game this season and has collected six assists.
Brown earned her second Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Week award of the season this week after collecting eight saves against USC Upstate and ETSU. She boasts a 0.80 GAA and has 3.1 shutouts overall. Brown is 6-1-2 on the season with 45 saves.
The Eagles are the two-time defending regular-season conference champions. FGCU also won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament last season by defeating Mercer 1-0 in two overtimes.
LEADING UNDERCLASSMEN: Four of NKU's top six players in points are underclassmen.
Martha Staab leads the Norse with seven points on three goals and an assist. Staab, a freshman from Bellville, Ohio, gave the Norse a 2-1 lead over North Florida on Sunday with her third goal of the season. Sophomore
Kelsey Zwergel added her first two goals last weekend with a goal against Jacksonville and North Florida. She has also added two assists for a total of six points.
Maria Silbersack, a freshman from Alexandria, Ky., has also totaled six points on the season. She added two goals and two assists for the Norse this season. Her two-goal performance against Murray State on Sept. 9 helped the Norse earn a 4-2 victory. Sophomore
Kelsey Laumann has tallied four points and is tied with
Allison Ponzer with four points. Laumann scored goals against Canisius and Youngstown State.
ZWERGEL SHOTS: Zwergel leads the team with 34 shot attempts. She is currently tied for second in the conference for shots per game and tied for third in shots. She averages 3.4 shots in the first 10 games of season for NKU.
