HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky women's soccer team is set to face IUPUI in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament on Thursday afternoon. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3. The semifinals and finals of the Horizon League Tournament will be played in Milwaukee, Wis.
 
Northern Kentucky Norse (9-5-2, 6-1-2) at IUPUI Jaguars (13-5-2, 6-2-1)
Thursday, Nov. 2 – 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT
Milwaukee, Wis. – Engelmann Stadium
 
LAST TIME OUT:  NKU closed out the regular season at IUPUI on Friday, Oct. 27. The teams played to a 1-1 draw. Valentine Pursey put the Jaguars ahead in the 83^rd minute, but Macy Hamblin responded with a goal of her own in the 85^th minute to help the Norse earn a point.
 
SCOUTING IUPUI: IUPUI is the No. 3 seed in the tournament and enters the contest at 13-5-2 overall. The Jaguars squared off with Cleveland State on Monday evening in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament, and the two teams played to a 1-1 draw. The match went to penalty kicks, and IUPUI used a 4-2 advantage to advance to the semifinals of the tournament.
 
Valentine Pursey and Krissy Kirkhoff lead the offensive attack for IUPUI. Pursey has 10 goals and three assists on the year for 23 points. Kirkhoff has 22 points on the season, with six goals and 10 assists. Sophia Lipka has had a great year in the net for the Jaguars. She has allowed just 11 goals this season in 16 matches, sporting a 0.66 goals against average. She also has a 0.869 save percentage and was named First Team All-League.
 
TAKING A LOOK AT THE STATS: NKU is 9-5-2 on the year and earned a first-round bye in the Horizon League Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Norse are scoring 1.88 goals per match, while allowing 1.06 goals per contest. Jessica Frey and Macy Hamblin lead the Norse offense, as each has scored 10 goals this season. Eight different players have scored a goal for NKU, and 12 players have contributed at least one assist on the season.
 
Emily Lohmann has started 15 contests in the net for NKU. She has a 0.827 save percentage and a 0.92 goals against average. Lohmann is 9-4-2 on the year with two shutouts.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT: The top four seeds have advanced to the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament. In the other side of the bracket, No. 1 Milwaukee will face No. 4 Wright State. The winner of that contest will play the winner of the NKU/IUPUI match.  
 
REGULAR SEASON AWARDS:  NKU had three women's soccer student-athletes earn Horizon League regular season awards. Macy Hamblin was named the Horizon League Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year for the third-consecutive year. She joins Milwaukee's Sarah Hagen as the only players to be named the Horizon League Player of the Year three times. Hagen accomplished the feat from 2009-2011. Joining Hamblin on the First Team for the third-straight year was Jessica Frey, and Taylor Spaulding earned Second Team honors for the first time in her career.  
 
WEEKLY HONORS: Jessica Frey was tabbed the Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday, Oct. 2. Frey helped the Norse win two League matches during the week. She scored the game-winning goal in the 75^th minute in a 1-0 win over Wright State. She followed that up with a goal against Detroit Mercy just 28 seconds into the match to help NKU to a 2-1 victory.
 
On Oct. 9, Emily Lohmann earned the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honor. She recorded a career-high 11 saves in the 1-1 draw at Milwaukee to help the Norse stay unbeaten in Horizon League play.
 
SENIOR CLASS AWARD: Earlier this season, Jessica Frey was selected as one of 30 candidates for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character, and competition.
 
As a nursing major, Frey maintains a 3.746 GPA. Upon graduation in the spring, Frey plans to work in a critical care unit at a children's hospital. She also hopes to advance in her field by becoming a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (CRNA). Because of her excellence in the classroom, she has been named to the 2015 and 2016 Horizon League All-Academic Teams, as well as the 2015 COSIDA Academic All-District.
 
Frey is also very active in the community. She has volunteered at the Liberty Matrix Nursing Home and the St. Lawrence Catholic Church after school program. She has also participated in the Price Hill Summer Clean-Up, Down Syndrome Buddy Walk, and the "Pause for Parents, Play for Kids" program through the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities.
 
HEAD COACH BOB SHEEHAN: Sheehan is in his 21^st season as the head coach of the program. He is the only coach in the team's history and sports a 306-99-28 overall record. In Division I play, his teams are 54-46-10. Coach Sheehan picked up his 300^th career win in a 2-1 overtime victory against Appalachian State on Aug. 29.
 
Sheehan ranks in the top 40 all-time in winning percentage for women's soccer coaches in NCAA history across all divisions. He is also in the top 60 all-time in total victories for women's soccer coaches across all NCAA divisions. 
 
2016 CHAMPIONS:  The Norse are the defending Horizon League Tournament champions, and the team earned a berth to play in the Division I NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in program history.