HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team concludes its three-game homestand on Wednesday as Butler visits the NKU Soccer Stadium for the first time.
 
Kickoff for Wednesday's action is scheduled for 7 p.m., and it will be Greek Night at the NKU Soccer Stadium.  Links to live stats are available at NKUNorse.com.  For live updates during the game, be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.  And, for all Norse women's soccer team updates, follow @NKUNorseWSOC on Facebook and Twitter.
 
NKU enters the Butler contest 3-1-2 on the season after earning a 2-1 overtime victory against Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon.  The Colonials held a 1-0 lead at the halftime break, but Katelyn Newton's second goal of the season tied the game in the 83rd minute.  With just over three minutes remaining in overtime, Sami Rutowski netted the game-winner after finding an opening during a scrum in front of the goal.
 
ABOUT BUTLER:  The Bulldogs are 4-4 overall after defeating IUPUI, 2-1, on Sunday.  Shannon McDevitt headed Maria Collica's corner kick into the net with less than one minute remaining in regulation to lift Butler to victory.  Serina Kashimoto scored a goal in the first half to put the Bulldogs ahead at the break, but IUPUI answered in the 87th minute, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
 
Elise Kotsakis leads the equal-opportunity Butler offense with nine points on a team-high four goals and one assist as 12 players have contributed at least one point this season.  Kelly Mahoney and McDevitt have each netted two goals, while Stephanie Kaylor tops the team in assists with five.
 
Jayne Heinrich has started the last six games in goal for the Bulldogs.  She has allowed six goals for a 1.00 goals against average while making 20 saves for Butler.  She boasts two shutouts this season, and she has made 20 saves in 540 minutes of action.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST BUTLER:  Kelly Mahoney and Sophia Maccagnone netted goals in the first 12 minutes of the game as Butler posted a 3-0 victory over visiting NKU on Aug. 28, 2013, in the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
 
Ali Backscheider scored the final Butler goal in the 38th minute by finishing off a rebound shot that Norse goalkeeper Tanner Ruberg had saved from just in front of the goal. The Bulldogs owned a 27-4 advantage in shot attempts and held a 6-0 edge in corner kicks in the first meeting between the two programs.
 
Ruberg recorded seven saves for NKU, while Julie Burton earned the shutout for Butler, which held the Norse from placing a shot on goal.
 
AGAINST THE BIG EAST:  NKU is now 0-3-1 against members of the Big East Conference.  Xavier holds a 2-0-1 lead in the all-time series, after playing the Norse to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening.  Butler won the only meeting against NKU one year ago.
 
AT THE TOP:  NKU's 3-1-2 record currently sits atop the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, and the Norse are just one of four teams with a mark above .500.  Jacksonville and Lipscomb follow NKU with identical 5-3-1 (.611) records, while Florida Gulf Coast follows in fourth place at 4-3 (.571) through the first four weeks of nonconference play.
 
NKU continues to lead the Atlantic Sun by averaging 2.4 goals per game, and the Norse are tops in assists with 12.  NKU has scored 12 goals this season to rank second in the conference as does the team's .156 shot percentage.
 
Several individuals land among the top Atlantic Sun players as well.  Kelsey Laumann ranks second in assists (4) and points (8), while Aubrey Muench is tied for third in assists (2).  Brooke Schocker's .875 save percentage is second-best in the Atlantic Sun, while her 0.80 goals against average is third.
 
HOME SWEET HOME: This season, NKU is 2-0-2 when playing games at the NKU Soccer Stadium.  The Norse began the season with a commanding 4-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Aug. 22 before playing Morehead State to a 1-1 draw two days later.
 
After a pair of road games, NKU recorded a 1-1 tie with Xavier a week ago, and the Norse posted a 2-1 overtime victory against Robert Morris on Sunday afternoon.  After NKU welcomes Butler to Highland Heights on Wednesday, the Norse will have three home games remaining this season: Jacksonville (Oct. 3), North Florida (Oct. 5) and Kennesaw State (Oct. 18).
 
Last season, five of NKU's six wins came at the NKU Soccer Stadium, including the final two contests of the season. 
 
STANDING STRONG:  NKU holds a 3-0-2 record when allowing two or less goals in a contest.  The Norse posted their first shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory against Eastern Illinois and held Morehead State to just one goal in the first weekend of play.
 
The second NKU shutout came on Sept. 5 in a 1-0 victory at IUPUI, and the Norse also limited Xavier and Robert Morris to just one goal apiece last week as well.  The only game this season in which NKU gave up more than one goal was against IPFW, and the Norse dropped a 6-4 decision in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
 
A-SUN HONOR:  NKU's Kelsey Laumann was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week on Monday.  Laumann was a major contributor for the NKU offensive attack as the Norse posted a 1-0-1 record.  She recorded three points on one goal and one assist over NKU's two games, but she also created several opportunities for her teammates that just missed the mark.  Laumann took five shots overall and placed three on target to help the Norse improve to 3-1-2 on the year.
 
On Tuesday, Laumann beat a Xavier defender in the first half and sent her shot into the lower right corner of the net for her second goal of the season.  Her equalizing goal ended up securing the tie for the Norse. 
 
On Sunday, Laumann had a hand in each of NKU's two goals.  She flipped a pass from Rutowski to Katelyn Newton for the first Norse goal of the game, which evened the score at 1-1 in the 83rd minute.  In overtime, Laumann served the ball into the penalty area, and a scrum ensued before Rutowski finally gained control of the ball for the game-winner.