HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Top-seeded Northern Kentucky women's soccer (8-1-1, 7-0-1 Horizon League) will battle for its second Horizon League Tournament Championship and a ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Saturday when it takes on No. 2-seeded Milwaukee at NKU Soccer Stadium.  
          
No. 1 NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. No. 2 MILWAUKEE  
Sunday, April 11 – 1:00 p.m. ET – NKU Soccer Stadium – ESPN+   
Northern Kentucky Athletics is unable to accommodate general admission attendance. Only pass-list supporters will be allowed inside NKU Soccer Stadium. No fans will be allowed at field level following the match and must remain within the concourse at all times.  
          
SERIES HISTORY          
Milwaukee leads the all-time series at 3-1-2. The last time the two teams squared off, the Panthers won, 3-0, on Oct. 19, 2019.  
         
LAST TIME OUT         
Northern Kentucky executed phenomenal passing throughout the entirety of a 3-0 rout over No. 4-seeded UIC on Sunday in the Horizon League semifinal. Kailey Ivins and Lindsey Meyer strung together a pair of perfect passes to an open Kiley Keehan, who netted her first career goal in the sixth minute to set the tone for the rest of the game. The Norse continued with similar pressure for the entire game, but finally netted insurance in the 74th and 79th minutes with goals by Ivins and Sofia Wilmes, respectively. The match could've been even more lopsided in NKU's favor, with a Meyer shot in the 72nd minute hitting the crossbar and just missing the inside portion of the goal. 
         
SCOUTING MILWAUKEE   
Like the Norse, Milwaukee has had a fantastic season and comes into the matchup 8-1, avenging its only loss on the year against No. 3-seeded IUPUI in the Horizon League semifinal on Sunday. The Panthers are scoring 2.67 goals per game this season and have allowed just three goals all year for a 0.33 team GAA. The incredible scoring output isn't coming from a small cast of players either as five Panthers have three goals or more this season, with Jelena Sever, an All-Horizon League first-teamer, pacing the offense with six goals and an assist. Defender Gabby Schwartz will be a player the Norse will need to be especially mindful of, as she has assisted on eight Milwaukee goals this season.  
 
ALL-LEAGUE DOMINANCE  
Northern Kentucky dominated the All-Horizon League awards that were announced on Thursday, April 8. Ivins was named both the Horizon League Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year, Mimi Stines was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year and the Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Bob Sheehan was named the Horizon League Coach of the Year. Chloe Mills, Lily Menssen and Meyer were all named to the All-Horizon League second team, while Kaya Vogt and Wilmes were also named to the All-Freshman squad.   
  
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 (.829) 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 an exceptional 0.30 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Her five-consecutive solo shutouts to end the regular season are a Division I era record for the Norse.   
    
IVINS UP FRONT          
After spending time in more of a midfielder capacity, Ivins stepped 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 surpassed last season's goal-output, netting shots against Dayton on Feb. 17, Green Bay on March 3 and the game-winner at Youngstown State on March 11 and versus Wright State on April 5. Her one-goal, two-assist performance against No. 4-seeded UIC on April 11 in the Horizon League semifinal earned her National Player of the Week honors by Top Drawer Soccer. 
 
A FRESHMAN NO MORE          
A rising player the Norse heavily relies on is Meyer, a sophomore forward that also slices up the midfield with ease. 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. This season, she leads NKU with eight assists, four of which being of the game-winning variety, and 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 a 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), Cleveland State (March 17) and No. 4-seeded UIC in the Horizon League semifinal (April 11). She is the first freshman since Brianna Frondorf in 2015 to have two goals in the first three matches of her career. 


A DEFENSIVE JUGGERNAUT  
NKU's best quality this season is in how it defends. Last season, NKU had five shutout-victories in an 18-game campaign, while this year featured seven in a season with eight less matches. NKU's team goals against average also saw one of the best improvements in Division I from 1.34 (175th in the country) to 0.39 (14th in the nation). The Norse are currently on a six-game streak of not giving up a goal and have allowed no more than two goals in a single game this season. NKU is currently riding a six-game shutout-victory streak, which is the most of the Division I era and and the most since registering eight in a row from Oct. 20-Nov. 13, 1999.    
       
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 five of the last six Horizon League Player of the Year awards have gone to a Norse athlete. Ivins is the most recent Norse to receive the award, while Zaken took the top prize in 2019 and Macy Hamblin pulled off a three-peat of the award from 2015-17.           
        
NEW YEAR, NEW NORSE          
Nine freshmen joined 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 ASUN 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 333-116-29 overall record, 36-11-5 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).