HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Northern Kentucky University men's soccer team plays its first home match of the season on Monday night when the Norse take on Marshall.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. MARSHALL
Monday, Sept. 2 – 7:00 p.m. – NKU Soccer Stadium – ESPN+

SERIES HISTORY
Marshall leads 7-3-2. In their last matchup on October, 16 2018, NKU lost to the Thundering Herd, 2-1.
 

LAST TIME OUT
NKU opened its season on Friday night with a 3-0 loss to Grand Canyon on the road. The Lopes scored goals in the 1st, 25th and 88th minutes, with the latter being from a penalty kick after a foul committed by Harvey Moyes. Rikard Lindqvist had the only shot on goal for the Norse. Two players made their collegiate debut in the game: goalkeeper Baj Maan and midfielder Ali Zohar.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
Marshall kicked off its season with a 3-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Friday night. Milo Yosef, Pedro Dolabella and Jan-Erik Leinhos each scored a goal in a game that saw the Thundering Herd outshoot the Mastodons 19-2, which included 10 shots on goal. Marshall finished 8-9-3 (3-3-2 C-USA) last season and returns its starting goalkeeper, Paulo Pita, who finished 2018 with a 1.32 goals against average.

A FAMILIAR SIGHT
A year ago, Norse newcomer Gianni Bouzoukis led Marshall in scoring with eight goals. In NKU's last matchup with the Thundering Herd, he scored two goals against the Norse. Bouzoukis transferred to NKU this season and is a current starter, playing 54 minutes in Friday's matchup with Grand Canyon. 

PRESEASON POLLING
Northern Kentucky was selected to finish sixth in this year's Horizon League preseason poll, receiving 46 points. Wright State, last year's regular season champion, topped the poll with 74 points and four first-place votes. UIC, which won the Horizon League Tournament a year ago, was the clear second choice, garnering 69 points and the remaining five first-place votes.

A YEAR AGO
NKU finished its 2018 campaign with a 10-7 overall and 3-5 record in the Horizon League. The Norse showed off a capable offense, scoring 2.18 goals a game thanks much in part to returning leading scorer Alex Willis, who finished the year with 16 goals. Alex Greive and Connor Probert, who also return, put up five goals apiece. The now-graduated Jim Barkei led NKU between the posts for much of the season, playing in 12 games, accumulating 45 saves and donning an 8-4 record.

TAKING A LOOK AT THE SQUAD
The Norse return 13 players from last year's team and add 11 newcomers to the fold for 2019. Brendan Auguste, Daniel Bermingham, Gianni Bouzoukis, Gino Geiser, Ryan Godding, Baj Maan, Samuel Nwosu, Mahamud Osman, Josiah Pokopac, Brodie Sallows and Ali Zohar are all in their first season at NKU.

RIDDLE ME THIS
Head coach Stu Riddle is in his third season leading the program, and it is his 11th season as a head coach. He has an overall record of 78-82-25. Since his hiring, NKU has seen steady improvement, with last year's 10-7 campaign being the most wins in the program's Division I era.