HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team begins a three-game road trip on Sunday with a nonconference game against Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern.  Links to live stats and the video broadcast are available at NKUNorse.com.  For updates during the game, be sure to follow @NKUNorseGameDay on Twitter.  And, for all Norse women's soccer team updates throughout the school year, follow @NKUNorseWSOC on Facebook and Twitter.
 
NKU fell to 3-2-2 overall after dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to Butler at the NKU Soccer Stadium on Wednesday evening.  Sami Rutowski headed in a shot off a corner kick play to put the Norse on top, 1-0, in the 25th minute to highlight a strong first half.  Butler pressed the NKU defense consistently during the second half, and Elise Kotsakis scored a pair of goals in the final two minutes of the game to lift the Bulldogs to the win.
 
ABOUT MURRAY STATE:  The Racers enter the weekend 2-5 on the season and play host to IUPUI on Friday evening.  Murray State snapped a four-game losing streak on Sunday, claiming a 1-0 road victory over Saint Louis.  Pavlina Nepokojova netted the lone Racers goal in the 79th minute when she found the back of the opposite corner of the goal.
 
Julie Mooney leads the Racers attack, topping Murray State with six points on a team-high three goals.  Harriet Withers follows with two goals for four points, while Nepokojova, Bronagh Kerins and Lyssie Wright have recorded each of the team's three assists this season.
 
Shelby Haworth, who was named the Ohio Valley Conference Goalkeeper of the Week on Tuesday, has started the previous four games for the Racers.  She boasts a team-leading 1.46 goals against average, and she has collected 21 saves and one shutout.  Last weekend, Haworth did not allow a goal during 180 minutes of regulation, surrendering the only goal with just over one minute remaining in overtime against Middle Tennessee on Friday.
 
LAST TIME AGAINST MURRAY STATE:  NKU goalkeeper Tanner Ruberg stopped 13 shots by Murray State as the Norse played the Racers to a scoreless tie on Aug. 25, 2013, at the NKU Soccer Stadium. 
 
Murray State finished with a 24-16 edge in shot attempts, with 13 of those attempts placed on goal.  The Racers also held a 5-4 advantage in corner kicks.  
 
NKU almost pulled out a victory in the 109th minute when Allison Ponzer's shot from the right wing was deflected by Murray State goalkeeper Savannah Haberman. The ball landed on the ground just outside the left post, where NKU's Megan Frye attempted a shot that sailed high and over the goal.
 
Haberman collected six saves in goal for Murray State. Ponzer – whose 20-yard strike bounced off the right post in the 93rd minute – and Sami Rutowski each attempted four shots for NKU.
 
A year earlier, NKU posted a 4-2 victory at Murray State. The Norse lead the all-time series with the Racers, 1-0-1.
 
AGAINST THE OVC:  NKU is 14-6-2 all-time against members of the Ohio Valley Conference.  The Norse hold winning records against Eastern Illinois (1-0), Morehead State (3-0), Murray State (1-0-1) and SIU Edwardsville (9-5-2).  NKU is tied with Tennessee Tech with one win apiece, as both teams have won home contests.
 
The Norse faced two OVC opponents earlier this year.  NKU opened the 2014 season with back-to-back OVC teams, and the Norse claimed a 4-0 victory over Eastern Illinois on Aug. 22 before playing Morehead State to a 1-1 draw two days later at the NKU Soccer Stadium.
 
GOALS ON THE BOARD:   NKU has scored a goal in each of the team's first seven games of the season.  The Norse scored a season-high four goals twice, beginning the season with a 4-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Aug. 22 at the NKU Soccer Stadium.  NKU also netted four in a 6-4 loss at IPFW a week later.
 
The Norse average 2.0 goals scored on 14.3 shots per game to lead the Atlantic Sun Conference in both categories.  The team has dished out 15 assists to top the league as well.  NKU's 14 goals sits just one behind conference-leader Lipscomb, which has collected 15 goals over nine games this season.
 
BACK ON TOP:  Three players top the Atlantic Sun in varying categories this season.  Kelsey Laumann recorded an assist on NKU's goal on Wednesday night against Butler to pick up her fifth of the season.  She is now shares the Atlantic Sun lead with Florida Gulf Coast's Shannen Wacker. 
 
Macy Hamblin returned to the starting lineup Wednesday night, and she recorded a game-high four shot attempts, giving her 20 on the year to place her first in the conference.  Brooke Schocker also tops the Atlantic Sun in goals against, having only allowed four goals over five appearances for the Norse.