HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's soccer (1-1) takes on Oakland (2-0-1) on Monday afternoon at NKU Soccer Stadium.
  
NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. OAKLAND
Monday, Feb. 22 – 1:00 p.m. ET – NKU Soccer Stadium – ESPN+ 
Due to the accumulated snowfall, Northern Kentucky Athletics is unable to accommodate any fans, including its pass-list supporters. 
    
SERIES HISTORY  
Oakland holds a commanding 9-1-1 lead in the series, but the Norse are the most recent winners, defeating the Golden Grizzlies on Nov. 8, 2019.
  
LAST TIME OUT  
In a wintry affair at NKU Soccer Stadium, the Norse emerged victorious over Milwaukee, 1-0, for their first win of the season. Dylan Bufton pelted in the lone goal of the afternoon in the 26th minute with passes coming from Brodie Sallows and Sam Robinson from the near-side. The Panthers largely controlled the possession battle at 58 percent to 42 percent, but NKU still controlled the shots and shots-on-goal battle at 9-7 and 4-2, respectively.  
 
SCOUTING OAKLAND    
Oakland remains unbeaten on the new year after defeating Purdue Fort Wayne and Robert Morris, while also tying league-favorite UIC, 2-2. Dylan Borczak leads the Golden Grizzlies with a whopping league-leading five goals to start the season. Noah Jensen has been a threat as well, generating five assists so far. Finn Jurak has been formidable at keeper, compiling a 0.93 GAA.
 
YOU'RE NEW HERE? ME TOO! LET'S BE FRIENDS. 
It's a pair of newcomers that have led the Norse offense thus far. Dylan Bufton, a transfer from Tyler Junior College that had 14 goals in two years of action, had the lone goal in NKU's 1-0 win over Milwaukee on Feb. 10. Robinson, who joins NKU this season after a freshman campaign at Cincinnati, gave NKU a 1-0 lead against Detroit Mercy before the Norse ultimately fell, 2-1 on Feb. 4. The duo have also proven they're unselfish, making the extra pass to assist on each other's goals this year.  
 
EVERY DAY IT GETS A LITTLE EASIER 
Although the Norse are just two games into the season, their defense looks improved from a year ago. Through two games, the Norse gave up 28 shots, 13 shots on goal and four goals last season. NKU has nearly-halved all of those metrics as they've allowed 15 shots, six shots on goal and two goals.  
 
UNFINISHED BUSINESS   
Three former Bearcats, all entering their sophomore campaigns after transferring in the offseason due to Cincinnati discontinuing its program, join the Norse with three years remaining in their respective soccer careers. Robinson, a forward, played in 16 games a year ago, logging 699 minutes and scoring his first-career goal versus Cleveland State on Oct. 9. Kyle Healy, a midfielder, also struck in a goal against Xavier on Sept. 6 to go along with an assist against Purdue Fort Wayne on Oct. 1. Finally, Ben Hegge, another midfielder, appeared in 11 games for the Bearcats, seeing the pitch for 294 minutes.   
    
HORIZON LEAGUE PRESEASON POLL    
Northern Kentucky was selected to finish eighth in the 2020-21 edition of the Horizon League preseason poll with 48 points. UIC and Oakland both claimed the top-spot with 109 points, but the Flames garnered eight first-place votes compared to Oakland's three. Wright State rounded out the top three in the poll with 88 points.     
 
A YEAR AGO    
The Norse finished 7-10-1 and 3-5 in the conference play in 2019. NKU began the season with a strong exhibition showing against No. 8 Kentucky, tying the Wildcats, 0-0. The Norse also took down both Wright State, the eventual Horizon League Tournament Champions, and UIC, the holder of the regular-season crown. On Oct. 9, the Norse reached the back of the net an impressive 11 times en route to shutting out Berea, tying Syracuse for the most goals in a single game in Division I on the season.     
    
WHO ELSE WILL STEP UP?   
With 12 departures from last year's team, NKU is without its top-three goal-scorers this season. Ryan Godding, a midfielder, is the top returning-scorer with a pair of goals and three assists a year ago. NKU also returns Sallows, who had two goals and an assist last year, as well as all six goals in the lone spring-season match against Georgetown College before the COVID-19 Pandemic halted all NKU athletic programs.  
   
NEW YEAR, NEW NORSE    
Along with Healy, Hegge and Robinson, nine other Norse are new additions this season: Deryn Armstrong, Bufton, Roberto Burlew, Trey Denigan, Tobias Karlsen, Daniel Kaufman, Cam Newton, Jesse Randall and Andrés Zaffino.  
    
RIDDLE ME THIS   
Following a 1-13-4 season in 2016, Stu Riddle was hired to lead NKU's men's soccer program and the Norse have been 25-24-5 in the last four years. Riddle led NKU to a 10-7 showing in 2018, which is the highest win-mark in NKU's Division I era. Riddle is an 11-year head-coaching veteran, owning an 86-92-26 record. He is joined by assistants Blair Stevenson (fourth season) and Sam Brooks (third season).