CINCINNATI, Ohio- The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team will open the 2015 regular season taking on two American Athletic Conference opponents on the road facing Cincinnati on Friday at 7 p.m. and Memphis on Monday at 3 p.m. The matches are the first two of a four game road swing to start the 2015 campaign.
 
About Cincinnati
Friday's match-up with Cincinnati will mark the second year in a row that NKU has opened the season with the Bearcats. Last season, the Norse and Bearcats battled to a 1-1 draw in their second meeting on August 29, 2014 at the NKU Soccer Stadium. Cincinnati is coming off a 2-1 win over Bowling Green in its final exhibition match of the preseason. The Bearcats finished the 2014 season 5-10-3 overall with an AAC record of 2-5-1 under 14^th-year head coach Hylton Dayes, falling in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament, 1-0. The Norse and Bearcats have met two times with both matches ending in a draw 1-1 draw (2013, 2014).
 
About Memphis
Monday will be the first-ever meeting between NKU and Memphis. Under first-year head coach Richard Mulrooney, the Tigers finished the 2014 campaign 9-7-2 overall with an AAC record of 3-4-1, falling, 4-2, to USF in the quarterfinals of the Amercian Athletic Conference Tournament.   
 
Opening the season
Under head coach John Basalyga, NKU holds a record of 7-2-3 in season opening matches. Since 2003, the Norse have only opened the season on the road three times. In those matches the Norse are 2-1 with their one loss coming to now conference-foe Green Bay (1-0) in 2012.
 
Game 251 for John Basalyga
When the Norse take the field against Cincinnati on Friday, it will be NKU head coach John Basalyga's 251^st game as head coach of the Norse. In his 13 years at the helm, Basalyga has amassed a record of 152-68-30. Basalyga is the third head coach in the program's history.

Last time out
The Norse defeated Kentucky 1-0 in a preseason exhibition on August 16., at the Soccer Stadium. NKU senior Gavin Colton netted the game-winner in the 33rd minute to give the Norse their first win of the preseason. Following a Wildcat penalty, Colton took a free kick from 35-yards as UK goalkeeper Callum Irving came off his line to establish the wall. Colton's shot sailed over Irving's head to give NKU a 1-0 advantage.? ?The Norse and Wildcats continued to battle back and forth in the second half, with both defenses playing stiff.
 
Kentucky outshot the Norse 8-3 in the second frame with NKU goalkeeper A.J. Fleak notching four saves on his way to five total in recording his clean sheet.? ?Fleak's most impressive effort came in the 70th minute when he fended-off a Kentucky penalty kick by Ryan Creel. Creel tried to beat Fleak to the left, but the senior made a diving save to keep the ball out of the net.
  
Record Crowd at NKU Soccer Stadium
A record home crowd saw the Norse defeat Kentucky during the preseason. 2,188 fans packed the stands and temporary seating at the NKU Soccer Stadium, surpassing the previous record of 1,934 set against Kentucky in preseason competition in 2014.
 
Up Next for the Norse
Following their two-game road swing to open the season, NKU travels to Hartwick College in Oneonta, N.Y. to compete in the Mayor's Cup. The Norse will face Saint Francis (Pa.) on Sept. 4 at 5 p.m. followed by Bucknell on Sept. 6 at noon.