HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team takes a break from Horizon League play on Wednesday as the Norse travel to take on Marshall for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Hoops Family Field.



Northern Kentucky Norse (0-6-1) at Marshall Thundering Herd (3-4-0)
Wednesday, Sept. 21 - 7 p.m. ET
Huntington, W.Va. -- Hoops Family Field
Live Stats | Video ($) | Audio

LAST TIME OUT: NKU is coming off a 3-2 loss to Horizon League foe Milwaukee at home last weekend. Johannes Jansen scored his first goal of the season on a penalty kick in the 37th minute to tie the game at 1-1 at the half. The Panthers stormed back for a pair of goals, including one less than a minute into the second half. Kobie Qualah tried to fuel a late comeback with an 82nd minute goal on an assist from Anders Mathiesen, but the Norse were unable to break through the Milwaukee defense for an equalizer.

SCOUTING MARSHALL: The Herd is 3-4-0 on the season, including 0-1-0 in Conference USA following a 3-0 loss to UAB last weekend. Marshall is on a two-game losing skid, having also dropped a match to High Point, 1-0, on Sept. 14. Opponents have outscored the Thundering Herd, 10-5, on the season. All five of Marshall's goals have come in the second half as it has managed 36 total shots in the second half compared to 21 in the first stanza.

Paul Whitener has a team-best four points on the season after one goal and two assists, trailed closely by Trevor Starcher and Daniel Jodah with a goal and an assist apiece. Trevor Clemens has a team-high 360:00 minutes in goal. Clemens owns a 1.00 goals-against average and .778 save percentage. Last season, the Herd advanced to the C-USA Championship where it fell, 1-0, to Florida International to post an 8-9-2 overall record.

SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series between NKU and Marshall dates back to 1980, NKU's first season of men's soccer. The first meeting fell on Sept. 16 at NKU where the Thundering Herd earned a 1-0 victory. NKU has only played Marshall twice in the John Basalyga era. The teams last met on Oct. 15 of last season at NKU Soccer Stadium where the Norse fell, 2-1.

Marshall leads the all-time series, 3-5-1, while NKU is 0-1-1 against the Herd in the Basalyga era.

STAT LEADERS: Qualah, who had a team-high six goals and 12 points last year, leads NKU with four points via a pair of goals. The junior's two goals have been split across Northern Kentucky's two League matches to land him in a four-way tie for the most points in Horizon League games. Additionally, all nine of Qualah's shot attempts have come in the last four matches. He boasts a team-high .778 shot on goal percentage as seven of his nine attempts have been on target. Anders Mathiesen leads NKU in assists with two, both coming on Qualah's goals. The freshman is tied with Johannes Jansen, Calvin Murphy and Campbell Morris with two points while Nick Perez and Bryce Day have added one point apiece.

Defensively, junior Dylan Carss has logged a team-high 653 minutes on the pitch, making him one of three players to log more than 600 minutes. Time between the posts has been split between redshirt-sophomore Christian Carey (372:20 minutes) and freshman Jared Leyland (300:00 minutes).

UP NEXT: Following Wednesday's match, the Norse resume League play on Saturday, Sept. 24 when they take on Wright State at home. The match will kick off at 4:30 p.m. and will be played at the front end of a doubleheader with the NKU women's team. Both matches will air on ESPN3.