HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. –  Northern Kentucky women's soccer (2-1-1, 2-0-1 Horizon League) aims to remain undefeated in Horizon League play on Thursday when they take on Youngstown State (0-4).     
    
NORTHERN KENTUCKY at YOUNGSTOWN STATE   
Thursday, March 10 – 1:00 p.m. ET – Youngstown, Ohio   
    
SERIES HISTORY    
For the second week in a row, NKU faces an opponent they're undefeated against. The Norse lead the series, 7-0, winning the last matchup, 1-0, on the road on Oct. 6, 2019.  
   
LAST TIME OUT   
NKU moved to 2-0-1 in the Horizon League with a 3-1 drubbing of Green Bay last Wednesday. The Norse scored three-unanswered goals from Kaya Vogt (25th minute), Kailey Ivins (48th minute) and Lindsey Meyer (55th minute), respectively. With the game pretty much wrapped up in NKU's favor, the Phoenix notched their lone goal in the 81st minute. Ashleigh Cronin had the lone assist on the day, shooting a pass up the middle for Meyer's goal.  
   
SCOUTING YOUNGSTOWN STATE 
The Penguins are still swimming in search of their first win on the season at 0-4. Marcella Sizer is the current leading scorer on the squad with a pair of goals and Abriana Rondin has a goal and an assist, with each making their shots count with .600 or higher shots on goal percentage. The only other Penguin to put one in the back of the net this season is Regan LaVigna. Time has been split evenly between two different keepers, Brooklyn Kirkpatrick and Kate McEachern, for a total GAA of 2.25.  
  
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 (.810) 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.    
    
IVINS UP FRONT    
After spending time as more of a midfielder capacity, Ivins steps up to a forward role in the 2020-21season 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. She has already matched last season's goal-output, netting a shot against Dayton on Feb. 17 and Green Bay on March 3.  
    
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 and had another on Feb. 24 versus Oakland. 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. Meyer found Wilmes again two weeks ago, knotting up a contest with Oakland after trailing for much of the match. She is the first freshman since both Macy Hamblin and 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, 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 327-116-29 overall record, 31-11-5 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).