HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –  Northern Kentucky women's soccer's match with Milwaukee on Wednesday, Feb. 17, has been canceled due to due to travel-related concerns for the Panthers. The Norse will now play Dayton at Wall2Wall Indoor Soccer in Mason, Ohio, on Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. 

NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. DAYTON 
Wednesday, Feb. 17 – 1:00 p.m. ET – Mason, Ohio – Wall2Wall Indoor Soccer 
Northern Kentucky Athletics is unable to accommodate any fans, including its pass-list supporters. 

SERIES HISTORY 
This is the first-ever meeting between the Norse and the Flyers.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Despite drilling on-target shots at the opponents' goalkeeper left-and-right, NKU finally netted a goal in double-overtime to defeat Robert Morris, 1-0. Freshman Sofia Wilmes was the hero of the match, scoring in the 104th minute off a pass from Lindsey Meyer. Mimi Stines claimed the third shutout of her career, facing three shots and making five saves. NKU has now won its last four season-openers.
 
SCOUTING DAYTON
The Flyers kicked off the 2020-21 season on Feb. 6 with a 2-0 win over Bellarmine, who is re-classifying to Division I. Dayton experienced a youth movement with goals from freshmen Madison Wilson and Diana Benigno in the 48th and 57th minutes of the match, respectively. The Flyers also return their top-two scorers from a year ago. Alexis Goins, who did not play against the Knights, had seven goals and three assists for Dayton in 2019, while Laney Huber finished last season with four goals and four assists.
 
SCINTILLATING STINES 
Despite the loss of some major players, one of the biggest storylines from a year ago was the debut of Dayton transfer, Stines, as goalkeeper. With a mostly underclassman back line, Stines picked up the slack and kept the Norse in several matches despite facing 15 or more shots a game in 10 different contests. She is currently third all-time in save percentage (.816) and in 2019, she broke the Norse single-season record for both saves (97) and saves per game (5.39). Stines broke the 100-career save threshold on Feb. 10 at Robert Morris, making her the fastest in NKU's Division I era to reach that mark. It took her just 19 games to Emily Lohmann's 26 to achieve that feat. 
 
IVINS UP FRONT 
After spending time in more of a midfielder capacity, Kailey Ivins will step up to a forward role in 2020-21 to make up for the lost scoring due to graduation. A year ago, Ivins finished with two goals, one of which came against Lipscomb, and seven assists.  
 
A FRESHMAN NO MORE 
Another rising player the Norse will heavily rely on is Meyer, a sophomore forward. Meyer finished her freshman season out strong with three goals in the final five games of the year. She also had an assist apiece in NKU's victories over Youngstown State and Green Bay on Oct. 6, 2019 and Oct. 27, 2019, respectively. She opened the 2020-21 campaign with an assist at Robert Morris on Feb. 10.
 
A NEW ERA 
Big shoes are left to be filled as the last group of players from NKU's 2016 Horizon League Tournament Championship graduated last season. The biggest loss of the offseason is Shawna Zaken, who was named Horizon League Player of the Year after a stellar 13-goal, three-assist campaign. NKU also lost forward Ally Perkins (five goals, three assists) and defender Hannah Fischer to graduation, as well as Emily Soltes to a career-ending injury.  
 
STAR FACTORY 
It's been a seamless transition into the Horizon League for NKU as four of the last five Horizon League Player of the Year awards have gone to a Norse athlete. The now-graduated Zaken was the latest to receive the award in 2019, while Macy Hamblin pulled off a three-peat of the award from 2015-17.  
 
NEW YEAR, NEW NORSE 
Nine freshmen join the Norse for the 2020-21 season: Katie Brock, Lauren Deckert, Kamryn Keehan, Allison King, Mickayla Kowalski, Emily Tirey, Alexis Trammel, Kaya Vogt and Wilmes.  
 
HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL 
Northern Kentucky was selected to finish fourth in the Horizon League preseason poll with 108 points. Five-time defending regular-season champion Milwaukee was picked first (132 points, 10 first-place votes), IUPUI came in second (118 points), and UIC (112 points, one first-place vote) rounded out the top three. Oakland (fifth, 105 points) was the only other team to garner a first-place vote. 
 
A YEAR AGO 
NKU finished last year with a 9-9, 5-4 Horizon League record. The Norse knocked off Lipscomb, the eventual Atlantic Sun champions, to start the season and finished tied for fourth in the Horizon League standings. The Norse defeated No. 4-seeded Wright State, 3-1, in the Horizon League quarterfinal before falling to No. 2 seeded UIC, 1-0, in the league semifinal.   
   
HEAD COACH BOB SHEEHAN 
Bob Sheehan is in his 24th season with the Norse, where he has accumulated a 326-115-29 overall record, 30-11-5 record in Horizon League action. He is joined by assistants Steve Bornhoffer (10th season), Payton Naylor (second season) and volunteer assistant, Terry Gruelle (21st season).