HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –  Northern Kentucky women's soccer travels to Robert Morris (0-1) for a late-morning matchup to kick off the new season.     
 
NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. UIC 
Wednesday, Feb. 10 – 10:00 a.m. ET – Canonsburg, Pa.
 
SERIES HISTORY 
The series is knotted up between the two foes at 2-2. The Norse were victorious in their last matchup with the Colonials, 2-0, on Sept. 18, 2019.  
 
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials suffered a 5-1 setback in a home match with league-favorite Milwaukee last Wednesday. Sheridan Reid had the lone Robert Morris goal in the 79th minute of the game to prevent the shutout. Reid, a sophomore, was the Colonials' leading scorer a season ago with five-goals and three assists. Robert Morris returns 91 percent of its scoring from 2019 as all but one goal-scorer returns for the 2020-21 edition of the squad. The Colonials went 6-10-2 last year and are led by Chris Shaw, who is 132-88-10 overall.  
 
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 fifth in the Horizon League standings. The Norse defeated No. 5-seeded Wright State, 3-1, in the Horizon League quarterfinal before falling to No. 2 seeded UIC, 1-0, in the league semifinal.  
 
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.  
 
SCINTILLATING STINES 
Despite the loss of some major players, one of the biggest storylines from a year ago was the debut of Dayton transfer, Mimi 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 fourth all-time in save percentage (.808) and in 2019, she broke the Norse single-season record for both saves (97) and saves per game (5.39). 
 
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 Lindsey 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.  
 
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 Sofia Wilmes.  
 
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.  
 
HEAD COACH BOB SHEEHAN 
Bob Sheehan is in his 24th season with the Norse, where he has accumulated a 325-115-29 overall record, 29-11-5 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).