HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – Northern Kentucky women's soccer (7-1-1, 7-0-1 Horizon League) begins its postseason quest for a Horizon League Tournament Championship on Sunday with a semifinal bout against No. 4-seeded UIC (5-2-1) at NKU Soccer Stadium.   
         
NORTHERN KENTUCKY vs. UIC  
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 in NKU Soccer Stadium.
         
SERIES HISTORY         
NKU currently leads the series, 4-2. The Norse fell to the Flames, 1-0, in double overtime on Nov. 7, 2019 in the Horizon League semifinal.              
        
LAST TIME OUT        
It was about as good of a senior day as it could get as NKU took down Wright State, 2-0, to clinch the Horizon League regular-season championship. Kailey Ivins had the game-winner in the 49th minute, where she dribbled a ball all the way up from midfield and netted an unassisted shot. Annie Greene followed with a goal of her own in the 75th minute, which was the first of her career. Mimi Stines picked up her fifth-straight solo shutout, making three saves on the afternoon.  
        
SCOUTING UIC     
UIC has a balanced scoring effort this season as forwards Louise Trapp and Savannah Jackson, as well as midfielder Grace Setter each have three goals on the year. Kaitlyn Montague is the other midfielder to watch in the matchup, dishing a team-best five assists. NKU will also have to navigate a stalwart keeper between the posts. Lena Kurz was named the Horizon League Goalkeeper of the Year in 2019 and has a 0.73 GAA and a .824 save percentage this season. UIC is led by first-year interim head coach Dustin Downey, who played for NKU's men's soccer program in 2008, helping the Norse to the Division II national semifinal.  
    
TOURNEY TIME 
After claiming the Horizon League regular-season championship, the Norse garner the top-overall seed in the Horizon League Tournament and earn home-field advantage throughout the duration of their run in the tournament. On the other side of the bracket, No. 2 Milwaukee will square off against No. 3 IUPUI, where the Jaguars took a 1-0 victory in their earlier matchup with the Panthers this season.  
 
ALL-LEAGUE DOMINANCE 
Northern Kentucky dominated the All-Horizon League awards that were announced on Thursday. Ivins was named both the Horizon League Player of the Year and the Offensive Player of the Year, 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 Lindsey Meyer were all named to the All-Horizon League second team, while Kaya Vogt and Sofia 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 a 0.33 GAA and a .906 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.      
 
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. This season, she leads NKU with six assists, three 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) 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 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 six in a season with nine less matches. NKU's team goals against average also saw a sharp reduction from 1.34 (175th in the country) to 0.43 (21st in the nation). The Norse are currently on a five-game streak of not giving up a goal and have allowed no more than two goals in a single game this season.  
      
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 332-116-29 overall record, 35-11-5 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).