Oct. 18, 2000

NKU TO HOST SJC, IPFW THIS WEEKEND

Norse now ranked No. 12 nationally in Division II

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. -The Northern Kentucky University women’s soccer team, now 12-1-2 overall after playing Lewis University to a 1-1 tie on Sunday, will host a pair of Great Lakes Valley Conference home matches this weekend at the Town & Country Sports Complex in Wilder, Ky. The Norse will play host to Saint Joseph’s College at 8 p.m. Friday night, and close out the regular-season home schedule at 3 p.m. Sunday against Indiana-Purdue University at Fort Wayne. NKU is now 7-0-2 in the GLVC and tied with Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (7-0-2) for first place in the league standings. NKU is now ranked No. 12 nationally in the Division II poll. The Norse dropped to No. 2 in this week’s NCAA II Central Region ratings as a result of the tie with Lewis. Minnesota-Duluth (13-1-1) is now No. 1 in the NCAA II Central Region rankings. If NKU wins both matches this weekend, the Norse will be the No. 1 seed in the GLVC Tournament and host the semifinals and finals Nov. 4-5. NKU holds the tie-breaker with SIUE, and two wins will clinch the No. 1 seed for the Norse. Junior midfielder Tricia Ruark continues to lead NKU in scoring with 26 points. Ruark has seven goals and 12 assists. Sophomore midfielder Bessie Black has seven goals and four assists, and junior forward Betsy Moore has seven goals and three assists. Junior goalie Lauren Piening has a 0.62 goals against average and four shutouts. A YEAR AGO AGAINST SJC: NKU defeated Saint Joseph’s, 3-2 in overtime, last season at Rensselaer, Ind. Kristen Noakes scored the winning goal six minutes into overtime for the Norse. The all-time series between NKU and Saint Joseph's is tied at 1-1-1. A YEAR AGO AGAINST IPFW: NKU scored a school-record 11 goals during an 11-0 win over IPFW at Fort Wayne, Ind. Betsy Moore had a school-record four assists in that match. It was the first meeting in women’s soccer between the two schools.