Men's Soccer Kicks off 2013 at Home Against Norse

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The IPFW Mastodons kick off their 2013 regular season at home on Friday evening in the second match of a women's / men's doubleheader at the Hefner Soccer Complex, as the Mastodons take on the Northern Kentucky Norse.

Opponent: Northern Kentucky Norse (0-0)
When: Friday, August 30 | 7:30 p.m.
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Hefner Soccer Complex (2,500)
All-Time Series: Northern Kentucky leads 14-2-2
Live Stats: Sidearm Live Stats

ABOUT IPFW

The IPFW Mastodons come into the 2013 regular season opener after falling in their two exhibition matches, 2-0 to the Ohio State Buckeyes and 2-1 to the Valparaiso Crusaders.

In the preseason, Oscar Uyamadu scored the team's only goal on a header in the 73rd minute of the game off of a pass from Corey Tom, only to see the Crusaders score less than three minutes later for the eventual game-winning goal. Freshman goalkeeper Raphael Kotzock was between the pipes for all 180 minutes of the preseason, picking up 11 saves over the two matches.

ABOUT NORTHERN KENTUCKY

Northern Kentucky, picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Sun Conference, comes into the regular season opener after finishing their only exhibition match with a 1-1 tie of the Kentucky Wildcats.

In the tie with Kentucky, the Wildcats scored in the 29th minute of the game, before the Norse fought back with a goal with less than seven minutes remaining on the game clock to force in the 90-minute exhibition contest. The goal came off of a free kick from goalkeeper A.J. Fleak that found the head of Ian O'Reilly for the game-tying score.

ALL-TIME SERIES

The meeting tonight is the 19th all-time match-up between the two teams, with Northern Kentucky holding a 14-2-2 lead in the all-time series. The teams met every season as members of the Great Lakes Valley Conference from 1986 until 2000 - when IPFW left the conference - before rekindling the series last year.

QUICK HITTERS

• IPFW is 17-17-2 all-time in season openers, and 17-18-1 in home openers.

• The Mastodons return four starters and 14 letterwinners from last seasons' team, including Corey Tom, who was named Second Team All-Summit League last season.

• The Mastodons have advanced to back-to-back Summit League Tournaments, winning four of the team's last five games last season to advance to the four-team championship tournament.

• The 2013 Mastodons have players from six different countries including the United States, England, Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, and Germany.

~ Feel the Rumble ~

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics

Men's Soccer Kicks off 2013 at Home Against Norse

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