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By Mike Anderson, NKU Sports Information HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The last two times the Northern Kentucky University men’s soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division II national quarterfinals were eerily identical. The same location, Wilder, Ky. The same opponent in Lincoln Memorial. The same result, a 2-1 loss for the Norse. In NKU’s third consecutive trip to the round of eight, two of those three similarities have already changed, as the Norse will take to the air in travelling to Millersville, Pa., to take on Millersville University. Saturday’s quarterfinal match is set to kickoff at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available at nkunorse.com. The Norse (16-2-3) reach this point in an unorthodox manner, taking the Midwest Region championship via a penalty-kick shootout victory over Lewis, 4-3, after playing 110 minutes of scoreless soccer. Tony Ray knocked home the clinching try to give NKU its first shootout victory in 20 years, the last coming on Nov. 2, 1988 against Kentucky Wesleyan in the quarterfinals of the Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament. The winner of Saturday’s match will advance to the NCAA national semifinals, to be played on Thursday, Dec. 4 in Tampa, Fla., against the winner of the Dowling/UMass-Lowell quarterfinal match. The national championship match is scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 6, at 3:30 p.m. A WORD ABOUT MILLERSVILLE: The Marauders enter Saturday’s contest at 18-3 on the season as the Atlantic Region champions. In what was almost a direct repeat of the Pennsylvania State Conference tournament, Millersville, as the No. 1 seed, defeated California (Pa.) in the first round, 3-0, before besting Slippery Rock, 1-0, in the regional final. It is MU’s first-ever trip to the national quarterfinals. MU’s only common opponent with the Norse in 2008 is West Virginia Wesleyan, and both teams took double-overtime victories over the Bobcats this season. The Norse and Marauders have never faced off in any NCAA-sanctioned event. The Marauders are led by PSAC East Athlete of the Year Sean McLaughlin, who has 14 goals and nine assists on the season. Three other MU players – Ryan Kiley, Kyle Loughlin and Pat Baffuto – have seven or more goals on the season. Matt Langione stands between the posts for MU, maintaining a 0.95 goals against average on the season and a .793 goals against average. OFFENSE HOLDING STEADY: For the third consecutive week the NKU offense ranks 11th in the nation at 2.4 goals per game, though the postseason output by the Norse has been just over half of their season average, with just seven goals scored in five tournament games. THE “BIG THREE”: NKU’s postseason offense has come off the efforts of three players in 2008. Midfield Steven Beattie, the GLVC and Midwest Region Player of the Year, has four goals, while forward Braden Bishop and defender Eric Ashworth each claim one tally each. The Norse were also beneficiaries of an own goal against Bellarmine to account for their seven postseason markers. ROAD WARRIORS: The Norse will play their fifth-consecutive game away from their home field on Saturday, the longest road stretch by the Norse since the 2002 season, when NKU finished a 6-10-2 season with five road games, closing out in the same city that the Norse just left, Kansas City, Mo., against Rockhurst. YOU ONLY GET ONE SHOT: In NKU’s 28-year soccer history, the Norse are 7-9 against teams they have only faced one time. AGAINST THE KEYSTONE KLATCH: The Norse hold an all-time record of 6-12 against PSAC teams, with their only wins coming against Gannon (3-4) and Mercyhurst (3-6). The Norse also claim 0-1 records against East Stroudsburg and Lock Haven. |
