LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two halves and a pair of 10-minute overtime sessions were not enough to decide a winner in Lexington, Ky., Friday night, as WKU and Kentucky battled to a scoreless tie in the University of Kentucky Tournament. The cross-state rivals played 110 minutes with neither team finding the net, just the second time in Lady Topper soccer history that a game has ended without a tally. The Lady Toppers move to 4-2-1 on the season, and Kentucky is now 2-2-3. Libby Stout returned to tend goal for WKU for the first time since September 6, working her third shutout of the season and 17th of her career.
The Lady Toppers remain unbeaten in their last three meetings against foes from the Southeastern Conference, after beating Mississippi State in 2007 and defeating Mississippi in 2008. Friday’s contest was the first overtime game of the season for WKU, who was 2-0-4 in matches needing extra time last season.
Stout stopped six Wildcat shots en route to the shutout, and Kentucky goalkeeper Sydney Hiance rejected four WKU attempts. Katie Walker played all 110 minutes for the Lady Toppers, the only player on either team other than the goalkeepers to never take a breather. Kentucky outshot WKU 15-12 in the match and held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Kellie Walker paced the Lady Toppers with three shots, all in the first half, and Giuleana Lopez led Kentucky with four.
Kentucky started the match in WKU territory, recording three shots and two corner kicks in the first 17 minutes. The Lady Toppers had a few looks of their own in the second part of the opening half, with Kellie Walker attempting three shots in a ten-minute span leading into halftime. Kentucky ended up with a 6-5 shot advantage after the first 45 minutes.
The second half played mainly in Kentucky’s favor, as the Wildcats kept on the attack and took advantage of four corner kicks to keep the pressure on the Lady Topper defense. WKU had a pair of opportunities to break the deadlock with under eight minutes to play in regulation, but shots by Ali Stahlke and Lindsey Goad were saved by Hiance. The ball stayed in Wildcat territory as the clocked wound down, with Kellie Walker trying a pair of corner kicks that WKU could not capitalize on.
Rachel Friedman and Nikki Workman led the Lady Topper attack in the opening minutes of the first overtime period with shots that just missed the frame. Megan Meinke also saw a shot sail wide left as the game headed into the second overtime session. Neither team could muster much of an attack in the second overtime, and a Kentucky corner kick with 30 seconds remaining led to nothing as the horn sounded to signal the end of the match.
Sydney Sisler played 55 minutes for the Lady Toppers in a start in front of a hometown crowd. She, along with WKU sophomore Lindsay Williams, attended West Jessamine High School in neighboring Nicholasville, Ky.
Up Next: WKU wraps up play in the University of Kentucky Tournament with a showdown against Marshall at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Thundering Herd improved to 7-0 on the season with a win against Tennessee Tech in the opening game of the University of Kentucky Tournament earlier on Friday. Sunday morning’s affair is the first-ever meeting between WKU and Marshall.
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