Raiders set for regular season finale

Wednesday, October 25

Dayton, OH

7 PM

Wright State University

Northern Kentucky

Photo by: Joseph Craven

10/24/2023 1:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

DAYTON — The Wright State women's soccer program closes its regular season against Northern Kentucky on Wednesday, October 25, at Alumni Field. The home matchup will kickoff at 7 p.m. and stream on ESPN+. Live stats will also be available.

MATCH INFORMATION
Wednesday, October 25 - 7 p.m. - Watch - Live Stats

LAST TIME OUT
The Raiders are coming off a 3-1 loss to Cleveland State in their regular season road finale. CSU entered halftime in front 1-0, but Lauren Borchert netted an equalizer on a penalty kick at the 56-minute mark. The Vikings responded with goals in the 65th and 71st minutes, while WSU was scoreless for the remainder of the match.

SCOUTING THE NORSE
Northern Kentucky is 7-3-6 overall and third in the Horizon League standings with a 4-2-3 record against conference opponents. The Norse have won their last four matches, outscoring opponents 9-2 in the stretch. As a team, NKU tops the HL in corner kicks per game (6.12), goals against average (.813), shot accuracy (.557), and shutout percentage (.500).

Kylie Anderson and Erykah Cornett have paced the Norse attack with 10 points on four goals and two assists. Lilly Yordy ranks second in the conference with seven assists. Goalkeeper Mickayla Kowalski has compiled a league-leading seven shutouts over 16 starts.

HISTORY VS. NKU
The Raiders are down 2-7-1 in the all-time series against Northern Kentucky. The teams last met at the end of the 2022 regular season, where Wright State earned a 2-1 victory over NKU. Kaylin Helinski scored a goal in the win.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS
Wright State and Oakland are tied for fourth in the Horizon League standings with 14 points. OU holds the tiebreaker over Oakland if both teams remain knotted up in points at the end of the regular season. Milwaukee has clinched the top seed with 21 points entering postseason play, while IUPUI (16) and Northern Kentucky (15) are slightly ahead of the Raiders. The top-six teams will earn a spot in the Horizon League Championship, which begins with the third and fourth seeds hosting quarterfinal matchups on October 29. The No. 1 seed will host the HL semifinals and championship from November 2-4. Click here to view the full standings.

AN ACE FOR MACE
Olivia Mace totaled three points on one goal and one assist over two starts en route to Horizon League Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her collegiate career on October 16. She tallied an assist in Wright State's 1-0 victory over Detroit Mercy (10/12) and followed with an equalizer for her first collegiate goal on Sunday at Purdue Fort Wayne (10/15). On the season, Mace leads WSU with four assists while ranking third on the team with six points.

TWO-TIME DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kiera Sarka has twice claimed Horizon League Defensive Player of the Week honors this season. She earned the recognition after compiling a four-save shutout at Green Bay (9/14) and a seven-save shutout against Oakland (9/30). The senior has tallied five shutouts through 16 appearances (15 starts) this season and possesses top-50 national marks in total saves (33rd, 83) and saves per game (49th, 5.19). She recorded a career-high 14 saves versus Dayton (9/3), tied for 14th-most by a Division I goalkeeper in 2023 and the highest mark by a Raider since Maddie Jewell's 14 saves against Milwaukee (11/2/17) during the 2017 campaign.

VETERAN LEADER
Fifth-year senior Kaylin Helinski is tied for first on the team with seven points on three goals and one assist. She has scored all seven points in HL play, tallying goals against Youngstown State (9/21), Robert Morris (9/24), and Detroit Mercy (10/12) while adding an assist at Green Bay (9/14).

CLUTCH GOALS
Kaylin Helinski and Lauren Borchert are tied for third in the Horizon League with two game-winning goals. Both players are tied for first on the team with seven points on three goals and one assist.

SHE'S JUST A FRESHMAN…
Freshman midfielder Caitlin Burger has tallied five points on a goal and three assists through 16 starts this season. The Cincinnati, Ohio native scored her first collegiate goal at Robert Morris (9/24) and has added assists against Green Bay (9/14), Youngstown State (9/21), and Purdue Fort Wayne (10/15). Her three assists are tied for the most by a Horizon League freshman this season.

BREAKOUT PERFORMANCE
Sophia Kuerze enjoyed a breakout performance in Wright State's 2-1 victory over Akron (9/10), as she was responsible for both of the Raiders' goals. The freshman opened the scoring with her first collegiate goal at the 25-minute mark and followed with a game-winning assist in the 73rd minute. Her three points were the most by a Raider this season.

REPRESENTING KANKAKEE
Macey Moore and Elise Kukuck — both natives of Kankakee, Illinois and 2023 alums of Herscher High School — scored their first collegiate goals in the opening half of Wright State's 3-2 win over Youngstown State (9/21).

ALL-CONFERENCE TALENT
Wright State returns four All-Horizon League selections from last season. Marcella Sizer became the second individual in program history to earn League Offensive Player of the Year after leading the team in points (15) and goals (6). Lauren Borchert topped the conference in shots on goal per game (1.67) and shots on goal (30) en route to All-League Second Team honors. Elise Canter (4 goals) and Kaylee Pham (18 starts, 1,601 minutes) garnered All-Freshman Team accolades.

MEET THE COACHES
The Raiders are led by third-year head coach Travis Sobers, a longtime assistant coach at WSU before taking reigns on the sidelines two summers ago. The former Wright State men's soccer standout player guided the Raiders to an 8-7-3 overall record and a 5-2-3 mark in conference play last year, good for the program's first winning seasons in both categories since 2019. First-year assistant coach Krystle Seidel joined the staff in May 2023 after a four-year head coaching stint at Macalester College and nine seasons at the University of Minnesota.

PRESEASON POLL
The Raiders were picked seventh in the annual Horizon League preseason poll, which the league's 11 head coaches voted on. Defending conference champion Milwaukee topped the poll, while Oakland was close behind in second.

2023 SQUAD
WSU welcomes ten newcomers — all freshmen — to this season's squad. The Raiders' 29-player roster includes nine returning sophomores, four juniors, four seniors, and two fifth-year student-athletes.

OHIO STRONG
Wright State's 2023 roster features 20 players from Ohio. Four Raiders — Addy Canter, Elise Canter, Ashley Vaughn, and Heidi Orloff — came to WSU from nearby Beavercreek High School. Another three individuals — Annika Samborski, Brandi Greenlee, and Olivia Mace — prepped at Centerville High School.

CAREER LEADERS (at Wright State only)
Goals

Lauren Borchert - 10
Kaylin Helinski - 9
Marcella Sizer - 8

Assists

Olivia Mace - 10
Lauren Borchert - 4
Marcella Sizer - 3

Points

Lauren Borchert - 24
Kaylin Helinski - 20
Marcella Sizer - 19

Saves

Kiera Sarka - 89
Erin Baker - 41

Games

Kaylin Helinski - 72
Lauren Borchert - 61
Olivia Mace - 52

Starts

Kaylin Helinski - 56
Lauren Borchert - 55
Olivia Mace - 48

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday's regular season finale, Wright State will learn its fate for the 2023 Horizon League Championship. The Raiders will receive a bye to the semifinals if they finish No. 2 in the standings. The Raiders will host the Horizon League Championship quarterfinals on Sunday if they finish third or fourth.