LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A classic rivalry born in the Great Lakes Valley Conference will be rekindled when the Bellarmine University men's soccer team travels to Northern Kentucky for a 7 p.m. (ET) Friday match with the Norse at NKU Soccer Stadium.

Bellarmine (0-1-1) and Northern Kentucky (1-1) were colleagues in Division II's GLVC through 2011. The Norse rose to the D1 ranks the following year while the Knights made the climb to the NCAA's highest level in 2020.

Bellarmine and Northern Kentucky did meet unofficially last season as the Knights hosted the Norse in an exhibition game. Bellarmine defeated NKU 1-0 at home in their final D2 showdown in 2011, although the Norse do own a 3-1-1 advantage in the last five meetings.

Now in his 25th season at Bellarmine, Coach Tim Chastonay guided the Knights against the Norse in the contests from 1998 through 2011. Bellarmine will square off with additional former GLVC rivals this season in Purdue Fort Wayne (Sept. 20) and Southern Indiana (Oct. 4), hosting both of those matches.

Tom Poitras is in his first season leading Northern Kentucky but has nearly three decades of head-coaching experience and 270 career wins. The Norse opened the season with a 2-1 loss at Bradley before posting a 3-2 home win over Southern Indiana.

Northern Kentucky's goal scoring was balanced over those two games, with four different players accounting for those four goals. Four players have one assist as well. Nic Lemen played the full match in goal both contests, collecting five total saves.

Northern Kentucky represents Bellarmine's second straight in-state opponent. The Knights fell 3-0 at Louisville on Monday night. Senior goalkeeper Matthew Brozovich racked up a career-high 10 saves against the Cardinals.

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