HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, KY – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team is preparing to hit the road for the last time this year in their season finale against USC-Upstate on Nov. 9.
The Norse are coming off of a 1-0 overtime loss to Mercer but they are still within contention of the top spot in the Atlantic Sun Conference. With a win at Upstate and a Florida Gulf Coast loss at North Florida, there will be a three-way tie for 1st-place in the A-Sun between the Norse, FGCU, and East Tennessee State.
"The emphasis for us is to improve every time we get on the field," said head coach
John Basalyga. "That is what we aim for. We want to get better every game all the way up to the final game at Upstate."
The Upstate Spartans are currently 1-10-2 (1-5-1) overall. The Norse defeated Upstate in Highland Heights last year 1-0, with a 17th-minute header from
Craig Heard. NKU outshot Upstate 15-5 in what would be NKU's last win of the 2012 season. The Norse will be looking to end 2013 on a high note as this season has already shown the team's progression since making the Division I jump.
"Our goal has always been to win one more game and finish one place higher than last year," said Basalyga. "They are in a position to win this last game and show their improvement. We want to show that we can get better each year through this transition period."
The Norse will have six seniors suiting up for the final time in an NKU uniform in Spartanburg, S.C.
Ben Dorn,
Nicholas Chiarot,
Brendan Murphy,
Craig Heard,
Mohammad Salhieh, and
Alex Weber are looking to close their NKU careers with a win.
"They should be intrinsically motivated to out on a high note," said Basalyga. "They have been under pressure all year long and pressure isn't something that is new to them. With playing as many overtimes as we have, they are used to this pressure and they work better with it."
The game is scheduled for a 7p.m. kickoff on Saturday Nov. 9. Live stats and live video feed will be available on nkunorse.com. For updates on the game and on the NKU men's soccer program, follow @NKUNorseMSOC on Twitter.
