Week 8 Game Notes |
Atlantic Sun Weekly Release
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team continues Atlantic Sun Conference action this weekend against North Florida and Jacksonville in the Norse's final road trip of the season.
NKU begins the weekend in Jacksonville, Fla., facing North Florida at 6 p.m. on Friday. The Norse conclude the trip on Sunday at Jacksonville. Kickoff for Sunday's action is scheduled for 2 p.m. Live stats for both matches will be available at NKUNorse.com, and video of Sunday's game will be available on ASun.TV.
NKU enters the weekend 4-8-1 overall and 0-4-0 in the A-Sun after dropping games to Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson last week. FGCU's two first-half goals were all the Eagles needed for a 2-0 victory on Friday evening, while Ashni Deschenes' goal with less than three minutes remaining in regulation gave Stetson a 2-1 victory over the Norse on Sunday at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
ABOUT NORTH FLORIDA: North Florida is 3-8-2 on the year and 0-3-0 in conference play. The Ospreys have now lost three games in a row after dropping a 3-1 decision to crosstown rival Jacksonville on Friday night.
Senior midfielder Thea Linkfield leads the North Florida offense with eight points on a team-high four goals, while freshman forward Alexis Bredeau follows with seven points on the year. Bredeau has recorded three goals and one assist in her first season with the Ospreys.
Junior goalkeeper Megan Dorsey returned to goal for North Florida for the first time in more than a year due to an injury against South Florida on Sept. 8. She now holds a 1.67 goals against average and has allowed 13 goals this season. Dorsey has collected 41 saves.
LAST TIME AGAINST NORTH FLORIDA: Two late goals by North Florida lifted the Ospreys to a 3-2 overtime victory over NKU on Sept. 23, 2013 at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
With just over two minutes remaining in regulation and NKU holding onto a 2-1 lead, Kathryne Husted gained control of a loose ball off a corner kick from Keara Murphy and found the back of the net to force overtime. Michele Larrinaga then scored the Osprey's golden goal with 14 seconds remaining in overtime to seal the win for North Florida in the only meeting between the two schools.
Martha Staab's third goal of the season gave the Norse the 1-0 lead in the 38th minute, and
Kelsey Zwergel sent a shot over the goalkeeper at the 61:22 mark to take the 2-1 advantage. The Norse had a chance to win the game in overtime, but an offside call interrupted the NKU attack.
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE: Jacksonville holds a 7-5 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the A-Sun after defeating North Florida, 3-1, on Friday. Miranda Fyfe put the Dolphins on the scoreboard first, but North Florida answered to tie the game. Sarah Moghadas' scored in the 52nd minute to regain the lead, and Jessica Cataldo-Ramirez sealed the Jacksonville victory just over five minutes later.
Junior forward Kaitlyn Bassett's eight goals leads the Dolphin offense and ranks second in the conference. She leads the A-Sun in shots (50), shots per game (4.17) and game-winning goals (4). Her 17 points on the year ranks third among the conference as well.
Senior goalkeeper Sarah Sierra leads the way in goal for Jacksonville. This season, she has accumulated a 1.34 GAA over 12 appearances and nine starts. She has allowed 15 goals while collecting 49 saves.
LAST TIME AGAINST JACKSONVILLE: Marie Weckhurst scored a goal and assisted on another to lead Jacksonville to a 2-1 victory over the Norse at the NKU Soccer Stadium on Sept. 21, 2012. The Dolphins scored first in the 37th minute when Weckhurst took a pass from Moghadas and shot the ball past NKU goalkeeper
Stephanie Glass from 10 yards out.
Zwergel was able to sneak a penalty kick by Jacksonville goalkeeper Jill D'Amico to tie the game for the Norse in the 55th minute, but the Dolphins responded in the 78th minute when Weckhurst passed the ball to Emily Culbreth, who found the back of the net for the win.
Jacksonville holds a 1-0 lead in the all-time series between the two programs.
FIRST CAREER GOALS: Junior defender
Abbey Scherer gave the Norse a 1-0 lead against Stetson on Sunday when she sent a lob shot over goalkeeper Victoria Troccoli in the 37th minute. Known for her defensive abilities for NKU, the goal marked Scherer's first career goal as a Norse.
Earlier this season, sophomore midfielder and defender
Ariel Fischer also collected her first collegiate goal. She scored the golden goal in the 98th minute to lift the Norse to a 2-1 overtime victory at Morehead State on Sept. 6. Four freshmen have also recorded their first career goals this season as well:
Aubrey Muench,
Katelyn Newton,
Sami Rutowski and
Chrissy Spears.
LOOKING FOR THE FIRST: NKU and North Florida enter Friday's contest looking for its first conference victory of the season. The Norse opened A-Sun play this season with losses to Mercer (3-1), Kennesaw State (2-0), Florida Gulf Coast (2-0) and Stetson (2-1). The Ospreys have dropped decisions to Stetson (1-0), Florida Gulf Coast (3-0) and Jacksonville (3-1).
South Carolina Upstate is the third team in the conference that has not won a game. The Spartans are 0-2-1 in the A-Sun after playing Mercer to a scoreless tie on Sunday afternoon. The team lost to East Tennessee State, 7-1, to open conference play on Sept. 28 and fell to Kennesaw State, 3-1, on Friday evening.
