HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky men's soccer team will host IUPUI on Saturday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at NKU Soccer Stadium, and live stats will be available.
 
Northern Kentucky Norse (4-1-3, 1-0-1) vs. IUPUI Jaguars (0-6-0, 0-2-0)
Saturday, Sept. 23 – 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 65-69-24 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 earned a 2-2 draw against Marshall on Wednesday night to extend the team's six-match unbeaten streak. NKU fell behind in the fifth minute on a penalty kick, but Jake Minkovitz evened the score in the 38^th minute. A few minutes later, the Thundering Herd once again took the lead on a free kick. However, Brett Wilson converted a penalty kick in the 55^th minute to tie the match at 2-2.
 
SCOUTING IUPUI: The Jaguars enter the contest at 0-6-0 overall and 0-2-0 in League play. The team most recently suffered setbacks to Oakland and Louisville. IUPUI is averaging 0.50 goals per match, while allowing 2.33 goals per match. Pedro Valladao leads the team with three points, and Yan Souza and Tommy Patacca have each added a goal on the season. Michael Buck and Tyler Shanahan have split time in the net. Buck is 0-4-0 on the year with a 0.579 save percentage. Shanahan has a record of 0-2-0 with a 0.700 save percentage.
 
NORSE IN THE 2017 SEASON: NKU is 4-1-3 on the year and 3-0-3 in the past six matches. The Norse also sport a 1-0-1 record in Horizon League play. As a team, NKU is scoring an average of 1.25 goals per match, while allowing them at a 1.13 mark. Rikard Lindqvist leads the team with four goals and nine points. Tom Suchecki has added two goals and two assists during the campaign. Jim Barkei has started every match in the net for the Norse. He sports a 4-1-3 record and a 0.96 goals against average.
 
HORIZON LEAGUE AWARD: Jim Barkei was named the Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 18. The redshirt junior from Downers Grove, Ill., recorded his fourth 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.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT: The Norse will host Memphis in nonconference action on Monday, Sept. 25. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m., and the match will be broadcast live on ESPN3.