HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University women's soccer team (5-8, 2-4 Horizon League) will play the first of its final three regular-season games on Wednesday night at Oakland (6-5-2, 4-1-1 Horizon League) in Rochester, Michigan.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at OAKLAND
Wednesday, Oct. 22 – 7:00 p.m. – Rochester, Michigan
SERIES HISTORY
Oakland leads the series 4-3-1. The Norse defeated the Golden Grizzlies, 2-1, in their last matchup on October 17, 2018.
LAST TIME OUT
NKU faced Horizon League leader Milwaukee on Saturday and was bested, 3-0, on the road. The Panthers dominated the possession battle and prevented the Norse from finding shot attempts throughout the match. Ally Perkins had the only shot on goal for the Norse and Mimi Stines played the whole game at goal, collecting four saves.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Oakland sits second in the Horizon League standings, is riding a three-game win streak and garners a 4-1-1 conference record after a rough 2-4-1 start to the year. Alexa Sabbagh and Sami Lopez have five and three goals, respectively, for the Golden Grizzlies. Sabbagh has two goals in two of the last three contests while Lopez has gone scoreless since a Sept. 5 matchup at Toledo. Jamie Leas has played 11 games at goal, posting a 1.35 GAA and a .729 save percentage.
ZAKEN LEADS THE WAY
Senior Shawna Zaken leads NKU's offensive efforts this season. After scoring six goals last season for the Norse, she has surpassed that mark this season with eight. She has scored multiple goals in NKU's matchups against Eastern Kentucky and Murray State.
NONCONFERENCE BUZZ SAW
Despite going 3-4 in nonconference play, NKU knocked off two teams that are defending conference champions and preseason favorites to win their leagues. Lipscomb won the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship after a 15-5-2 season and Murray State won the Ohio Valley Conference Championship with a 13-5-1 record. NKU's nonconference opponents have a winning record and over 50-total wins on the year.
THIS YEAR'S SQUAD
The Norse return 16 players from last year's team, including leading scorer Shawna Zaken, and welcome nine newcomers to the squad. Taylor Abbott, Annie Greene, Kiley Keehan, Jamie Lehker, Lindsey Meyer, Mimi Stines, Megan Sullivan, Shelby Wall and Kayla Wypasek are in their first seasons at NKU.
PRESEASON POLLING
Northern Kentucky was picked to finish second in the Horizon League preseason poll, receiving 79 points. Four-time defending Horizon League champion Milwaukee was picked to win its fifth-consecutive championship this year, garnering 90 points and eight first-place votes.
HEAD COACH BOB SHEEHAN
Bob Sheehan is in his 23rd season at the helm of the NKU women's soccer team. He sports a 321-114-29 all-time record. His teams are 26-11-5 in Horizon League regular-season play.
