The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team lit the nets on fire in their 9-0 victory over Great Lakes Valley Conference opponent Illinois-Springfield (2-9, 0-9 in the GLVC) on Oct. 4 in Springfield, Ill.

The Norse (9-2, 6-2 in the GLVC) got a three goal effort from junior forward Kendall Day against the Prairie Stars. Sophomore midfielder Kristi Hofmeyer contributed two goals and four other players accounted for one goal a piece on the day.

Sophomore midfielder Hannah Wissel played an important role in the drubbing of the dogs, checking in four assists and a goal for the game. The team shared the ball very well during the game, collecting 12 total assists. The black and gold scored five goals in the first half and four goals in the second to come away with a strong victory.

NKU defeated GLVC rival Lewis (2-7-2 in the GLVC) 2-1 on Oct. 2 in Romeoville, Ill.
Both teams struggled to net a ball in the first half as it was knotted at 0-0 going into halftime. The Norse attempted seven shots on the goal while Lewis had just three. Freshman goal keeper Rachael Wood recorded seven saves for NKU.

The first goal of the game was knocked in by junior forward Danielle Hogue off of a nice feed from sophomore midfielder Amanda Mason. At the 56:02 mark, junior midfielder Morgan Price sent one past the Flyer’s goalie to up the NKU lead to two. Lewis jumped on the board late in the contest, but it was not enough to hold of the Norse.

Next, NKU will host the Quincy (7-3-0) at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 9 at the Town and Country Sports Complex in Wilder, Ky.

As a unit, the Hawks are averaging 1.8 goals per game and they hold a .451 shots on goal percentage. This is a team that likes to get on the board in a hurry. Out of their 18 goals, Quincy has capitalized on 12 goals in the first quarter so far this season. They have held their opponents to just eleven goals.

Quincy is effective when scoring goals early in the ball game. On the defensive side, they get stingier throughout the game. Quincy has two goal keepers that split time during games. Senior goal keeper Tori Eye has collected 22 saves for the Hawks and freshman keeper Tori Champagne has added 19 saves to the team’s total. The duo have recorded 22 saves in the second half alone.

The Hawks have six seniors and six juniors on the roster which gives them a solid core of experience that they can put on the field. Senior forward Jenna Boyko leads the team with five goals and freshman forward Brittany Casey follows with three goals on the year. Junior midfielder Erin Conroy has two goals and five other players have recorded at least one goal. Boyko is also the team leader in the assists category with three of the teams 12 so far this season.

NKU is 4-0 at Town and Country this season and they are averaging 3.36 goals per game, according to the NKU Sports Information Web site. The Norse has been very effective around the goal, posting a shot’s on goal percentage of .497.

NKU has also been very effective in the second half by scoring a total of 21 goals after the break. Defensively, they are playing tough, allowing just eight goals through 11 games. Wood has recorded 37 saves on a .841 save percentage up to this point of the season and she is holding opponents to less than one goal per game.

Day leads the team with six goals so far this season and Hogue is the team leader in the assist category with nine.

If the Norse play aggressive, pass the ball and get good looks at the net, they should gain another ‘W’ for the win column. The confidence from their most recent victory should certainly add some pep-in-their-step for the battle against the Hawks.

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