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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – It was fitting that
Allison Ponzer and
Megan Frye led the way Friday night as the Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team rolled to a 6-1 win over USC Upstate.
Prior to the game, NKU honored its three seniors – Ponzer, Frye and
Kara Yeaste. Less than four minutes into the game,
Sami Rutowski won the ball from the USC Upstate defense and sent a long pass to Ponzer. The NKU senior beat the defenders and Spartan goalkeeper Sarah Plantz came out to meet her, but Ponzer placed the ball into the lower right corner of the net for a 1-0 Norse lead.
"Allison has worked really hard over the years to finish those types of opportunities," NKU head coach
Bob Sheehan said. "She had a great first touch, a great second touch, found the keeper, found the spot that was open and put a beautiful shot into the corner, so it was a really great way to start the game."
At the 24:05 mark, Frye extended the NKU advantage to 2-0 by finding the back of the net for her second goal of the season. On that play,
Sam Davis acted as though she would shoot the ball but tap passed it to Ponzer. Ponzer sent a back-heel pass to Frye, whose shot went past Plantz into the lower right corner again.
""It was great to see two of our seniors lead us off in the scoring with the first two goals, and we were really pleased with them," Sheehan said.
The Norse offense added four more goals in the second half, building a 6-0 lead before the visiting Spartans added a score late.
Katelyn Newton,
Casey McMillan and
CG Bryant all netted goals for the Norse. NKU also benefitted from a USC Upstate own goal.
The Norse improved to 5-10-2 overall, 1-6-1 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. USC Upstate dropped to 4-10-3 overall, 1-6-1 in the A-Sun. NKU is now 2-0 all-time against USC Upstate.
NKU concludes the season Sunday at noon with a home contest against East Tennessee State.
"You always want to end on a positive note, and you always want to try to play your best toward the end of the year," Sheehan said. "Although we don't have the conference tournament to shoot for, we are still playing and we want to complete the season. We are really pleased with the performance tonight, and moving into Sunday, we are looking forward to the opportunity."
