BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Fresh off the University of Kentucky Tournament championship, the WKU Lady Topper soccer team starts Sun Belt Conference play with home games against Florida Atlantic and FIU this weekend. The Lady Toppers tied Kentucky and defeated previously-unbeaten Marshall last weekend to win the University of Kentucky Tournament and improve their record to 5-2-1 on the season. Friday’s match against Florida Atlantic (2-5-2) and Sunday’s contest against FIU (2-4-2) are the first home matches for the Lady Toppers since August 30.
Complete match notes are available in .pdf form at the link at the bottom of the page.
The Lady Toppers played some of their best soccer last weekend in Lexington, battling tournament host Kentucky to a scoreless tie on Friday and defeating Marshall, who entered the game with a perfect 7-0-0 record, on Sunday 4-1. The Lady Topper offense exploded for four goals in the second half against Marshall, their largest scoring outburst of the season, to erase a 1-0 halftime deficit. Marshall had allowed just two goals all season prior to WKU scoring four.
Nikki Workman set a new school record and tied the Sun Belt Conference record with four assists in the game against the Thundering Herd. Kellie Walker assisted on one goal and scored another against Marshall and was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for her efforts over the weekend. Walker was also named to the All-University of Kentucky Tournament Team and was voted the tournament’s offensive MVP.
WKU is 7-4-2 all-time against the two schools from the Sunshine State. The Lady Toppers have also won 11 straight matches at the WKU Soccer Complex. Florida Atlantic features Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selection Ashley Mannarino, the conference’s third-leading scorer this season. FIU enters Sunday’s contest on the heels of a win over North Florida and a loss against Arkansas last weekend. The Golden Panthers will play at Middle Tennessee on Friday before heading to Bowling Green on Sunday.
All Big Red’s Rascals can get into this weekend’s games for free with their membership card, and any SOKY Soccer player wearing their uniform may get in free this weekend. Sunday is TopSoccer Day at the WKU Soccer Complex. All participants in the Bowling Green and Elizabethtown TopSoccer organization are specifically invited to come to the game.
Match #9:
WKU (5-2-1) vs. Florida Atlantic (2-5-2)
Friday, September 25 // 6:00 p.m.
WKU Soccer Complex (1,000) // Bowling Green, Ky.
Match #10:
WKU (5-2-1) vs. FIU (2-4-2)
Sunday, September 27 // 1:00 p.m.
WKU Soccer Complex (1,000) // Bowling Green, Ky.
•KICKING OFF CONFERENCE PLAY: Sun Belt Conference play begins this weekend, with the Lady Toppers hosting Florida Atlantic on Friday and welcoming FIU on Sunday. WKU has a combined 7-4-2 all-time record against the two schools from the Sunshine State. The games this weekend are the first home contests for the Lady Toppers in four weeks. After finishing third in the Sun Belt last season with a 7-1-3 record, the Lady Toppers will once again be looking to challenge for the conference championship.
•HOME SWEET HOME: WKU has been untouchable at the WKU Soccer Complex recently. The team has won their last 11 regular-season matches at home and holds an all-time home winning percentage of .770. The Lady Toppers have not been on the wrong side of the scoreboard at home since October 28, 2007 (L 2-1; vs. Denver).
•#12 A CONSTANT IN THE STARTING 11: Lady Topper senior Rachel Friedman has started 64 matches in her collegiate career, tied for fifth all-time in WKU Soccer history. If Friedman starts each of the 11 remaining regular-season matches, she would tie Jenna Silverberg for most career starts in a Lady Topper uniform. Including any potential postseason play, she could stand alone at the top of the career matches started leaderboard at the end of the season. Friedman has started 50 straight contests and 52 of WKU’s last 53 games.
•UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS: The Lady Toppers returned home from the University of Kentucky Tournament as tournament champions, thanks to a 4-1 win over previously-unbeaten Marshall on September 20 and a scoreless tie against Kentucky on September 18. The Lady Toppers and the Wildcats finished with identical 1-0-1 records and the same goal differential of plus-three, but the Lady Toppers found the net one more time on the weekend than Kentucky did, which gave WKU the tiebreaker and the tournament championship.
•WORKMAN PASSES HER WAY TO RECORD: With assists on all four Lady Topper goals against Marshall on September 20, Nikki Workman set a school record and tied the Sun Belt Conference mark for assists in a single game. She is now one of four players in Sun Belt Conference history to record four assists in one game.
•WALKER NAMED SUN BELT CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For her efforts in the University of Kentucky Tournament September 18-20, including a goal and an assist against previously-unbeaten Marshall, Lady Topper senior Kellie Walker was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week. It is the first such honor of her career, and she is the first Lady Topper to win the award since Kristin Cocchiarella shared the award with Denver’s Taryn Hemmings for the week of October 6, 2008.
•UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY TOURNAMENT HONORS: Four Lady Toppers were named to the All-University of Kentucky Tournament Team, as voted by the tournament’s participating coaches. Morgan Thomas, Mallory Outerbridge, Kellie Walker and Nikki Workman represented WKU on the all-tournament team. In addition, Walker was named the tournament’s offensive MVP.
•MOVING ON UP: Senior Kellie Walker is climbing up the WKU women’s soccer leaderboard in multiple categories. With an assist in WKU’s win over Marshall on September 20, the 16th of her career, she is now third all-time in school history. She also scored a goal in that match, which puts her alone in fourth place in program history in goals scored with 19.
•CONTRIBUTING ACROSS THE BOARD: Head coach Jason Neidell has used his team’s depth to his advantage this season, starting 18 different players in regular-season matches. The only constants in the starting lineup for each regular-season match have been Rachel Friedman, Kellie Walker, and Ali Stahlke. In addition, 23 of the 27 players on the roster have appeared in at least one regular-season game.
•S-E-C SPELLS "SUCCESS": Including a scoreless tie against Kentucky on September 18, the Lady Toppers are 2-0-1 in the previous three matchups against the SEC (W 2-1, Mississippi State, 2007; W 2-1(OT), Mississippi, 2008).
•WITHIN THE BLUEGRASS BORDERS: Western Kentucky University has the upper hand when it comes to playing in-state rivals. The Lady Toppers are 14-6-3 (.674) all-time against foes from the state of Kentucky, including a win over Eastern Kentucky on August 30 and a tie against Kentucky on September 18.
•FRIEDMAN NAMED CANDIDATE FOR SENIOR CLASS AWARD: WKU defender Rachel Friedman has been named one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which is given annually to one senior student-athlete who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition. Friedman is the only representative from the Sun Belt Conference. The list of candidates will be trimmed to 10 on October 5, and voting will then be opened to the public to determine the winner.
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