HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team travels to Valparaiso on Saturday for the first of two remaining matches on the 2016 slate. Kickoff at Valpo's Brown Field is set for 8 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN3.

Northern Kentucky Norse (1-11-4, 1-5-1 Horizon) at Valparaiso Crusaders (8-4-3, 3-2-2 Horizon)
Saturday, Oct. 29 – 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT
Valparaiso, Ind. – Brown Field
Live stats | ESPN3

LAST TIME OUT: In its last match, NKU battled IUPUI to a 1-1 draw and posted a season-high 23 shots while freshman goalkeeper Owen Betz picked up 10 saves, coming one save shy of matching NKU's Division-I era record of 11. NKU was trailing 1-0 in the 69th minute when Alwin Komolong netted his first career goal on an assist from Johannes Jansen to knot the game at 1-1. Betz registered five of his 10 saves across the pair of overtime periods.

SCOUTING THE CRUSADERS: Valparaiso enters the weekend ranked fourth in the Horizon League with a 3-2-2 mark against League foes. The Crusaders are undefeated at home at 2-0-2 and have not played a home contest in three weeks. The squad is coming off a 1-0 loss to UIC last weekend.

The Crusaders are third in the League in goals scored with 21 across 15 games, while the defense ranks second in goals allowed with 16 across 15 matches at a rate of 1.01 per game. Isaiah Madrid ranks among the League's top-three in numerous offensive categories including points (18) and goals (seven). Madrid is also the team-leader in assists with four. His 18 points are far and away the most on the team, as Ramone Howell is second with eight points on three goals and two assists.

Nico Campbell is the primary goalkeeper, logging all but 60 possible minutes in goal. Campbell owns a 1.06 goals-against average with a .733 save percentage and four shutouts.

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's meeting will be the second-ever between the Norse and Crusaders. The teams first faced off last year when they battled to a scoreless draw at NKU Soccer Stadium on Oct. 17. Kobie Qualah led NKU offensively with four shots, one on goal.

DOUBLE FIGURES: While NKU's 23 shots against IUPUI on Wednesday were a season-high, it also marked the fifth-straight game the Norse have posted double-figure shot attempts. Northern Kentucky has 67 shots across the last five games including 31 shots on goal for a .463 shot on goal percentage. NKU has posted a pair of Horizon League shutouts in that span.

TEAM LEADERS: NKU's 27 points are split among 10 different players led by Campbell Morris with six and Kobie Qualah with five. Morris has a team-high three goals while Anders Mathiesen leads the team in assists with two. Qualah has a solid .684 shot on goal percentage as he has fired 19 shots, 13 of which have been on target.

Defensively, Dylan Carss has a team-high 1,518 minutes played out of a possible 1,542 as he and fellow defender Calvin Murphy are the only two Norse to start every contest this season. After just seven games played, freshman goalkeeper Owen Betz leads the squad with 37 saves, a 1.06 goals-against average and a 0.822 save percentage with three shutouts.

UP NEXT: Following Saturday's match at Valpo, NKU concludes the 2016 campaign on Friday, Nov. 4 at Green Bay. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET.