HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's soccer (4-1-1, 4-0-1 Horizon League) faces Horizon League newcomer Purdue Fort Wayne (3-3, 2-3 Horizon League) on Wednesday at Hefner Field #2 in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
      
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at PURDUE FORT WAYNE 
Wednesday, March 23 – 12:00 p.m. ET – Fort Wayne, Ind. – ESPN3    
      
SERIES HISTORY      
NKU leads the series, 3-2, defeating the Mastodons, 3-1, in the last matchup on Aug. 21, 2015.  
     
LAST TIME OUT     
NKU claimed its second-straight shutout last Wednesday, defeating Cleveland State, 2-0, at NKU Soccer Stadium. The game-winner came in just the fourth minute of the match, where a deep cross from the midfield by Lindsey Meyer and an extra pass by Kailey Ivins found its way to Sofia Wilmes with a wide-open net. Kayla Wypasek put insurance on the win, netting a shot in the 73^rd minute after receiving a backwards pass from Meyer. Mimi Stines claimed her second-consecutive solo shutout, facing nine shots and making four saves.  
     
SCOUTING PURDUE FORT WAYNE   
Purdue Fort Wayne is 3-3 on the year with wins coming against Cleveland State, Youngstown State and Findlay (NCAA Division II). Rylee Vruggnik, a freshman forward, leads the Mastodons with a trio of goals and a pair of assists. Kailyn Wade, a senior midfield/defender, also has three goals on the season. Lorah Pund has started every game for Purdue Fort Wayne at goal, compiling a 1.56 GAA and a .756 save percentage.  
 
TIED FOR FIRST 
With the Horizon League determining seeding for its four-team tournament by points per game, NKU is tied with IUPUI for first place in the standings at 2.6 points per game. League-favorite Milwaukee and UIC are not far behind with 2.5 and 2.0 points per game, respectively, to round out the tournament field if it began today. Oakland (1.86) and Wright State (1.5) are currently on the outside looking in.  
 
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 on 10 different occasions. She is currently third all-time in save percentage (.817) 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. This season, with an improved back line in front of her, Stines' numbers are even better with a 0.48 GAA and a .864 save percentage.   
 
IVINS UP FRONT      
After spending time in more of a midfielder capacity, Ivins steps up to a forward role in the 2020-21 season to make up for lost scoring due to graduation. A year ago, Ivins finished with two goals, one of which came against Lipscomb, last season's ASUN champion, and seven assists. She has already surpassed last season's goal-output, netting a shot against Dayton on Feb. 17, Green Bay on March 3 and the game-winner at Youngstown State on March 11.   
      
A FRESHMAN NO MORE      
A rising player the Norse heavily relies on is Meyer, a sophomore forward that also slices up the midfield when needed. 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, had another on Feb. 24 versus Oakland and had two more versus Cleveland State on March 17. She currently has one goal on the year in a March 3 matchup at Green Bay.   
   
SOFIA WIL-MESS YOU UP    
Sofia Wilmes, a freshman and Cincinnati native, has been the welcome surprise to the 2020-21 edition of the Norse. She began the season as the double-overtime hero in a matchup at Robert Morris, netting the golden goal off a pass from Meyer to win the game, 1-0. Wilmes added another goal apiece in matchups versus Oakland (Feb. 24) and Cleveland State (March 17). She is the first freshman since Brianna Frondorf in 2015 to have two goals in the first three matches of her career.     
   
A NEW ERA      
Big shoes were left to be filled as the last group of players from NKU's 2016 Horizon League Tournament Championship team graduated last season. The biggest loss of the offseason was 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 has 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 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 329-116-29 overall record, 33-11-5 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).