ROCHESTER, Mich. – Putting the finishing touch on their 2022 regular season, the Golden Grizzlies will square off with the Northern Kentucky Norse at the Oakland Soccer Field on Wednesday, November 2 at 2 p.m.

Playing the Milwaukee Panthers to a scoreless draw in their last action on October 29, the Golden Grizzlies will enter Wednesday tied with the Detroit Mercy Titans for fourth place in the Horizon League at 3-9-4 (3-2-3), while the Norse occupy eighth place at 4-10-2 (2-5-1).

HORIZON LEAGUE TOURNAMENT PICTURE
Set to begin with the quarterfinals on the campuses of the No. 3 and 4 seeds on Sunday, November 6, the fight for the six spots in the 2022 Horizon League Men's Soccer Tournament has come down to seven schools, all of whom share this 2 p.m. Wednesday time slot for their regular season finale.

Horizon League men's soccer teams earn three points for a conference win and one for a tie, and the current No. 1 seed, the Cleveland State Vikings with 17 points, will host Green Bay in their final regular season match. The No. 7 Phoenix are the one team outside the present tournament field that has a chance to crash the postseason party by picking up at least one point on Wednesday.

Tied for second in the league with 15 points, the IUPUI Jaguars and Wright State Raiders are the two programs that have a chance to jump Cleveland State and capture a regular season conference championship with a win and a Vikings loss.

IUPUI will travel to Moon Township, Pennsylvania to play the No. 6 Robert Morris Colonials and Wright State faces the Detroit Mercy Titans in Dayton.

The Raiders' clash with Detroit Mercy is of particular interest to Oakland fans, as the Titans are who the Golden Grizzlies are tied for fourth place with.

If Oakland and Detroit Mercy both win Wednesday, paired with an IUPUI loss, we would be looking at a four-way tie for second place with 15 points.

ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST NORTHERN KENTUCKY AND LAST MEETING
A series that is just over seven years old, the Golden Grizzlies are Norse first met on October 3, 2015 and have battled a total of seven times, with Oakland holding a 4-2-1 edge.

In the last meeting, a November 3, 2021 showdown in Highland Heights, Kentucky, the Golden Grizzlies topped the Norse, 2-1, on a double overtime goal by Noah Jensen.

SCOUTING THE NORSE
Tallying six goals and two assists this season, senior forward Sam Robinson, a Cincinnati Bearcats transfer, leads Northern Kentucky's offensive attack with 14 points. Junior Deryn Armstrong is also in double-figures in points with 10.

Redshirt freshman Nic Lemen, who joined the Norse after a year with the Vermont Catamounts, has seen the majority of goalkeeping action recently, registering a 2-4-1 record and 31 saves.

TELEVISION AND SOCIAL MEDIA COVERAGE
Wednesday's action will be aired live on ESPN+ (subscription required), which can be accessed using this link.

Additionally, Live Stats has up-to-the-minute updates, and @OaklandMSOC will be covering the match on Twitter.