HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team will host Green Bay in a significant Horizon League match on Friday. An NKU win over Green Bay would give the Norse a berth in the Horizon League Tournament.
 
Northern Kentucky can also earn a berth with a tie or loss depending on the outcome of matches between Oakland and Milwaukee, as well as Detroit Mercy and Cleveland State. Green Bay has clinched at least a share of the regular-season League title, and a win or tie on Friday would give the Phoenix an outright championship.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at NKU Soccer Stadium, and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3. Before the match, the Norse will recognize the accomplishments of Christian Carey, Dylan Carss, Campbell Morris, and Brett Wilson, who will all be playing in their final home contest.
 
Northern Kentucky Norse (7-5-4, 3-3-2) vs. Green Bay Phoenix (7-4-3, 6-1-1)
Friday, Nov. 3 – 7 p.m.
Highland Heights, Ky. – NKU Soccer Stadium
 
HEAD COACH STU RIDDLE: Stu Riddle is in his first season at the helm of the NKU men's soccer program. He was most recently the head coach at the University at Buffalo, where he spent four seasons. Last year as head coach of the Bulls, Riddle led the team to a 12-4-3 overall record. For his career, Riddle sports a 68-73-25 overall record as a head coach. In the past seven seasons, Riddle guided his teams to the Mid-American Conference Championship match four times (2010, 2011 at Western Michigan and 2015, 2016 at Buffalo).
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Norse fell to Evansville on Tuesday evening by a score of 2-1. Ian McGrath and Caleb Williams scored goals in the 16^th and 20^th minutes, respectively, to help the Purple Aces take a 2-0 lead. Edo Durante pulled one back for NKU in the 26^th minute to get within one, but the Norse were unable to get the equalizer. 
 
SCOUTING GREEN BAY:  The Phoenix enter the match at 7-4-3 overall and 6-1-1 in the Horizon League. Green Bay is at the top of the standings in the League by three points. The team most recently earned a 1-0 double overtime victory over Belmont on Oct. 28. The Phoenix are averaging 1.57 goals per match, while allowing them at an average of 1.43 per contest. Audi Jepson leads the team offensively with nine goals and five assists for 23 points. In the net, Nikola Kahvedzic has played in 10 matches this season. He sports a 1.20 goals against average with 37 saves on the year.
 
NORSE IN THE 2017 SEASON:  NKU is 7-5-4 this season and 3-3-2 in League play. The Norse are averaging 1.12 goals per match, while allowing them at an average of 1.00 per contest. When scoring first in a match, NKU is 7-0 this season. The Norse are also 6-0 when having a lead at the half. Tom Suchecki and Rikard Lindqvist are key contributors on NKU's offense. Suchecki and Lindqvist each have four goals and two assists on the season for 10 points. In the net, Jim Barkei has had an outstanding year for the Norse. Barkei's goals against average is just 0.84, and he has a 0.803 save percentage on the season. He has recorded eight shutouts during the campaign, which ranks first in the Horizon League and ninth in NCAA Division I.
 
TAKING A LOOK AT THE HORIZON LEAGUE STANDINGS: NKU's win over Detroit Mercy on Oct. 28 helped the Norse move up the Horizon League standings. NKU is currently in sixth place, which is the final spot to qualify for the Horizon League Tournament. A win over Green Bay would give the Norse a berth in the tournament.
 
1.      Green Bay - 6-1-1 (19)
2.      UIC - 5-2-1 (16)
3.      Milwaukee - 5-3 (15)
4.      Wright State - 5-3 (15)
5.      Cleveland State - 4-2-2 (14)
6.      Northern Kentucky - 3-3-2 (11)
7.      Detroit Mercy - 3-4-1 (10)
8.      Oakland - 3-4-1 (10)
9.      Belmont - 2-6 (6)
10.    IUPUI - 0-8 (0)
 
 
HORIZON LEAGUE WEEKLY AWARDS: Jim Barkei was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18. The redshirt junior from Downers Grove, Ill., recorded a shutout in a 0-0 draw against Cleveland State. In the match against the Vikings, he faced 22 shots and made seven saves to prevent CSU from getting a goal. Earlier in that week, Barkei helped the Norse to a 1-0 win over Dayton. He faced 13 shots, making three saves.
 
Barkei earned his second Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honor on Oct. 16. He made a season-high 10 saves in the match against UIC to preserve a 0-0 draw. The shutout was his seventh of the season, which is the most in the program's Division I era.
 
FRESH FACES: NKU signed 13 student-athletes to its 2017 class. Jim Barkei, Victor Bjurhall, Felix Komolong, Alex Greive, Brett Wilson, Tom Suchecki, Rikard Lindqvist, Edo Durante, Abdul Kooistra, Jake Minkovitz, Joe Paasewe, Harvey Moyes and Isaiah Schatz are all in their first seasons with the Norse.
 
Barkei, Koositra, Lindqvist, Suchecki and Wilson are transfers who have played at the Division I level. Komolong, a freshman, is the brother of NKU soccer alum Alvin Komolong. Schatz is also a freshman, and he earned a selection to the U.S. Youth Futsal Team that competed in Costa Rica in late July.