HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky men's soccer begins the long-awaited 2020-21 season on Thursday with a matchup against Detroit Mercy at NKU Soccer Stadium.  

NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. DETROIT MERCY
Thursday, Feb. 4 – 1:00 p.m. ET – Highland Heights, Ky. 
  
SERIES HISTORY
The Norse lead the series 3-2-1 overall. In the last matchup with the Titans, the Norse fell, 2-0, on Oct. 12, 2019.  
  
SCOUTING DETROIT MERCY  
Detroit Mercy finished the 2019 season with a 7-11-1 overall and 4-3-1 record in the Horizon League. Looking to build off of the season, the Titans return all three goal-scorers that finished the year with two or more goals. Kyle Bandyk led the team with four goals and two assists and Mohamad Miri and Demetri Pliakos each had a pair of goals and an assist to their names. The Titans are led by head coach Nicholas Deren, who owns a 64-100-31 record over the past 10 years.  
 
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.   
  
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.   
 
WHO 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 Brodie 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.  
 
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. Sam 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.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW NORSE  
Along with Healy, Hegge and Robinson, nine other Norse are new additions this season: Deryn Armstrong, Dylan 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 24-23-5 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 85-91-26 record. He is joined by assistants Blair Stevenson (fourth season) and Sam Brooks (third season).