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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – This weekend the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team will seek its fifth Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship, and its first in 13 years, when the ninth-ranked Norse take the pitch on Friday against Bellarmine in the semifinal round. The tournament is being played in Kansas City, Mo., with NKU’s kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m. Eastern. The second semifinal will feature the host Rockhurst taking on Drury. Live stats will be available throughout the tournament at nkunorse.com and glvcsports.com. The Norse entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed and defeated the No. 6 seed Missouri S&T last Sunday when Steven Beattie’s drive in the 87th minute resulted in his 18th goal of the season and a 1-0 decision for the Norse. NKU (14-1-2) is playing in its fourth consecutive GLVC semifinal match, going 1-1-1 in its previous three tries. Last season, the Norse defeated Rockhurst, 2-1, to advance to the championship game, where they fell to Lewis by a 1-0 decision. In 2006, NKU took Wisconsin-Parkside to a scoreless draw but lost in the penalty-kick shootout, 6-5. In 2005, Rockhurst handed the Norse a 4-1 loss to end NKU’s season. Prior to the current run, NKU had not made the semifinal round since 1997, when the Norse lost to Wisconsin-Parkside, 1-0. The GLVC championship game will take place Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. Eastern. NKU will then await their selection to the NCAA Midwest Regional tournament, to take place Nov. 14-16 at a site to be determined. A WORD ABOUT BELLARMINE: The Knights (9-6-4), entering the tournament as the No. 7 seed, come off the shock of the tournament, taking the No. 2 seed Lewis to a 1-1 draw before winning the shootout, 10-9. It marked the biggest GLVC tournament upset since the 2002 event, when No. 7 Wisconsin-Parkside routed No. 2 Missouri-St. Louis by a 5-0 score. Brad Barraclough was responsible for the Knights’ only goal in the contest, his team-leading 17th of the season. Justin Welply, one of the GLVC’s hardest-working goalkeepers, with 94 saves on the season, will backstop the Knights for the contest. LAST TIME WE MET: The Norse and Knights met just three weeks ago in regular-season play when NKU was victorious by a 3-1 score. Braden Bishop opened scoring in the fifth minute, with Beattie adding a pair of goals, including the insurance marker in the 82nd. Barraclough notched a marker of his own in the second half, but it wasn’t enough as NKU netminder Michael Lavric made a career-high eight saves to preserve the win. CLASH OF THE TITANS: Friday’s match will pit the GLVC’s top two scorers, NKU’s Steven Beattie (18) and Bellarmine’s Brad Barraclough (17), in a head-to-head battle. The two sophomores have combined for 35 goals on the season, more than Kentucky Wesleyan, Missouri S&T, Southern Indiana, Indianapolis, Missouri-St. Louis, or Rockhurst have scored as teams. ALL-CONFERENCE COLLECTION: Five NKU players were honored last week as members of the All-GLVC teams. Steven Beattie was named to the first team, as well as GLVC Offensive Player of the Year. Defenders Eric Ashworth and Tony Ray each landed on the first team as well. Forward Braden Bishop was named to the second team, while goalkeeper Michael Lavric was a third-team selection. NATIONAL RANKINGS STAND STRONG: The Norse continue to be among the nation’s best in several defensive categories. NKU has the country’s 11th-ranked offense (2.76 goals per game) and fourth-best defense (0.56 goals against average). Individually, Beattie stands 11th in points per game (2.44) and sixth in goals per game (1.13). On the defensive side, Lavric is sixth in goals against average (0.552) and fourth in save percentage (.862). |
