HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's soccer (2-1) plays on the road for the first time this season on Sunday in a matchup with Cleveland State (2-2).   
   
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at CLEVELAND STATE
Sunday, Feb. 28 – 1:00 p.m. ET – Cleveland, Ohio  
     
SERIES HISTORY   
The Norse currently lead the series, 2-1-2. However, the Vikings took the win in the last matchup, 2-1, on Sept. 21, 2019.   
   
LAST TIME OUT   
A pair of header goals gave the Norse a 2-1 win over an undefeated Oakland team on Monday. It took until the 45th minute for a score, but NKU jumped out to the lead after Ryan Godding and Dylan Bufton made passes for a header from Deryn Armstrong. Each side went into the break tied a score apiece, however, as Oakland received a penalty kick shortly after the Norse goal. Although the Golden Grizzlies continued to dominate possession in the second half, NKU nailed the game-winner off a Godding corner kick, with Bufton in the right place to head one in during the 83rd minute.  
 
SCOUTING CLEVLAND STATE    
At 2-2, the Vikings have a pair of shutout wins over Robert Morris and Detroit Mercy to begin the season. Jannis Schmidt, a junior and the reigning Horizon League Player of the Week, leads the Vikings with four goals and an assist on the year. Bojan Kolevski is the other multi-goal scorer, adding two to the Vikings' cause this season. Between the posts will likely be Omeed Naeemy, who has a .95 GAA and a .810 save percentage.  
 
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. Bufton followed the performance with another goal and an assist in NKU's 2-1 win over Oakland on Feb. 22. Sam 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. 
  
EVERY DAY IT GETS A LITTLE EASIER  
Although the Norse are just three games into the season, their defense looks improved from a year ago. Through three games, the Norse gave up 38 shots, 18 shots on goal and six goals last season. NKU has nearly-halved all of those metrics as they've allowed 22 shots, eight shots on goal and three 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 Bufton, Healy, Hegge and Robinson, eight other Norse are new additions this season: Deryn Armstrong, 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 26-24-5 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 87-92-26 record. He is joined by assistants Blair Stevenson (fourth season) and Sam Brooks (third season).