MSOC Can Clinch No. 2 Seed With Win on Tuesday

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Purdue Fort Wayne men's soccer welcomes Northern Kentucky to town on Tuesday (Nov. 4) for the final game of the 2025 regular season. Both clubs come in with much at stake. The 'Dons have 14 points and enter the day second in the standings. The 'Dons are only behind Cleveland State who has clinched the top seed and will host a semifinal contest on Nov. 12. The Mastodons can clinch the No. 2 seed with a win over Northern Kentucky on Tuesday. A loss or a tie could cause the 'Dons to fall depending on other outcomes. Seeds 3 and 4 host matches against the bottom two seeds on Sunday, November 9 in the quarterfinals.

Game Day Information
Who: Purdue Fort Wayne (7-2-5, 4-2-2) vs. Northern Kentucky (4-9-3, 2-4-2)
When: Tuesday, Nov. 4 | 2 p.m. ET
Where: Fort Wayne, Ind. | Hefner Soccer Complex
Live Stats: Link
Watch: ESPN+
Tickets: Link
All-Time Series: Northern Kentucky leads 21-4-4. The series dates all the way back to 1986, a 3-2 double overtime win for the Norse. The 'Dons have lost the last five matches and have yet to get a positive result against the Norse in Horizon League play. The Mastodons' last win over the Norse was a 3-0 non-league win in 2018.

About the Norse
Northern Kentucky enters Tuesday's match needing a win over the Mastodons and a Robert Morris loss to make the postseason. NKU has lost three consecutive matches, including a pair of league games. Ali Taleb has four goals, including two game-winning goals, on the season.

Hefner is Home
The Mastodons are 11-3-6 at the Hefner Soccer Complex since the start of the 2023 season.

Seven Again
With seven wins, the Mastodons have matched their win total from each of the last two years. One more win would be their most wins in a season since the 'Dons won 10 games in 2018.

Dozen is Best
With seven wins and five ties, the Mastodons have 12 positive results this season. That is the most positive results in a single season in the Division I era history of the program. The 'Dons had 11 positive results in 2023 and 2018.

RPI
The NCAA's updated RPI rankings that came out on Thursday have the 'Dons at 149.

Double-Digit 'Dons
Shane Anderson (20) and Iann Topete (18) are first and second in the league in points. Anderson is tied for eighth with Ian Luya (2002) for most points in a season in the DI era. Topete is tied with Romain Lopez (2018) for 10^th.

Nice Start
The Mastodons opened the season 6-0-5. It was the longest undefeated stretch to start a season in program history. At 11 games, it was also the longest undefeated streak in the program's Division I era history. The last time a Mastodon team put a streak together like this was the 1999 NCAA Division II Tournament bound 'Dons that had a 14-match unbeaten streak which included a 10-match win-streak.

OPOTW
Iann Topete had a debut weekend to remember for the Mastodons. He scored twice vs. DePaul to help the 'Dons earn a 3-3 tie against the Blue Demons. His play helped him earn the Horizon League's Offensive Player of the Week honor on Aug. 25.

OPOTW X2
Shane Anderson earned his first career Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 22. He picked up the honor after a pair of goals at Wright State, including the game winner in the 85th minute.

DPOTW
Sep Habibi picked up his first career Defensive Player of the Week accolade on October 13 after a shutout win over IU Indy the Saturday prior.

'Dons & Ends
- Iann Topete leads the league in goals with eight. Shane Anderson is second with seven.
- Sep Habibi has a 0.963 goals against average on the season, second best in the league. He has five shutouts, and one combined shutout this season.
- Shane Anderson leads the league in shots with 58.
- At 6.92, the Mastodons are 30th in the nation in shots on goal per game.
- 14 different Mastodons have either a goal or an assist on the season.

New Challenge
The Purdue Fort Wayne or Indiana Fort Wayne student who attends the most Mastodon home athletics events this year will win an iPad at the end of the 2025-26 school year! Make sure to check in and get your QR code scanned at the game to start tracking your attendance.

All Eyes on 'Dons
The department's sixth annual Party at the Pitch on September 10 drew a record crowd of 1,062. It is the third time the 'Dons have drawn over 1,000 for the event.

Coming Up
The 'Dons will play in the 2025 Horizon League Championship for a third consecutive season. Date/opponent/location are all to be determined.

2025 Horizon League
Standings (points)
Cleveland State 18
Purdue Fort Wayne 14
Green Bay 13
Milwaukee 13
Oakland 12
Robert Morris 11
Northern Kentucky 8
Detroit Mercy 7
IU Indy 7
Wright State 6
* top six qualify for the Horizon League Championship *

This week's schedule
All games on Tuesday will start at 2 PM.
IU Indy at Oakland
Green Bay at Cleveland State
Detroit Mercy at Milwaukee
Robert Morris at Wright State

~ Feel The Rumble ~

MSOC Can Clinch No. 2 Seed With Win on Tuesday

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Players Mentioned

Shane Anderson

Sep Habibi

Iann Topete

Purdue University Fort Wayne Athletics