BOWLING GREEN, KY - The Lady Topper soccer team returns to the WKU Soccer Complex this weekend to battle ULM Friday evening at 6:00 p.m., before taking on Louisiana-Lafayette Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
The Lady Toppers enter the weekend with a record of 6-5-2 overall and 4-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. WKU currently sits in third place in the Sun Belt Conference, ahead of both ULM and Louisiana-Lafayette. ULM currently sits last with a record of 2-12-1 overall and 0-6 in the SBC. Louisiana-Lafayette holds seventh in the conference with a record of 8-7 overall and 3-3 in the SBC.
After this weekend, the Lady Toppers will battle Troy for a Thursday afternoon match (Oct. 21) at 1:00 p.m. on the road. The Lady Toppers last home match of the regular season will be on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 1:00 p.m. against South Alabama.
Match #14:
WKU (6-5-2, 4-2 SBC) vs. ULM (2-12-1, 0-6 SBC)
Friday, October 15 // 6:00 p.m.
WKU Soccer Complex (1,000) // Bowling Green, Ky.
Match #15:
WKU (6-5-2, 4-2 SBC) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (8-7, 3-3 SBC)
Sunday, October 17 // 1:00 p.m.
WKU Soccer Complex (1,000) // Bowling Green, Ky.
•WARHAWK WAYS: ULM returns six starters and 12 letterwinners to their 2010 squad while welcoming 11 newcomers. In 2009 the Warhawks went 3-14-2 overall and 2-9 in the Sun Belt Conference finishing 10th. ULM currently has a record of 2-12-1 overall and 0-6 in the SBC. The Warhawks two victories came against Central Arkansas in the season opener (1-0) and against Centenary College in a double-overtime win 3-2. ULM boasts eight players who have scored at least one goal this season. Leading the Warhawks in goals is senior forward, Samantha Cashman with four. ULM has scored 14 goals this season against their opponents 37 goals.
•WKU-ULM REWIND: Friday's match will be the fifth time the two teams have met in competition. The Lady Toppers are undefeated against ULM with a record of 4-0. The first time the two teams met in competition was in 2006 when WKU defeated ULM 2-0 in Bowling Green. Last season was the only time the Lady Toppers have battled ULM in Monroe, resulting in their fourth victory 6-2.
•RAGIN' CAJUN RAMBLINGS: Louisiana-Lafayette returns 11 starters and 16 letterwinners to their 2010 squad while welcoming four newcomers. Louisiana-Lafayette squad boasts six seniors and five juniors. The Ragin' Cajun's finished their 2009 season with a record of 2-16-1 overall and 2-9 in the Sun Belt Conference finishing 11th. This season Louisiana-Lafayette has a record of 8-7 overall and 3-3 in the SBC. Louisiana-Lafayette will take on Middle Tennessee Friday evening before coming to Bowling Green Sunday afternoon. Nine players for the Cajuns have scored at least one goal this season, with senior Chelsea Balestra leading with six goals. Louisiana-Lafayette has scored 21 goals to their opponents 18 goals.
•WKU-UL: Sunday's match-up will be the 11th time the two teams have met in competition. The Lady Toppers hold an advantage of 8-1-1 over the Ragin' Cajuns. The first time the two teams met was in WKU's inaugural season (2001) with the Lady Toppers defeating Louisiana-Lafayette 2-0 on the road. The one loss came in the following season in Bowling Green in a 1-2 double overtime loss. Last season the Lady Toppers defeated the Cajuns 1-0 on the road.
•KICK 4 PINK NIGHT: The WKU Lady Topper soccer team will host Kick 4 Pink, a breast cancer awareness match, Friday evening against ULM at the WKU Soccer Complex. Admission is free to the match and fans will receive a pink ribbon at the gate. Donations will be accepted at the gate with all donations going directly to The Sideout Foundation.
•WEEKEND REVIEW: Last weekend, the Lady Toppers went 1-1 on the road in Florida. WKU dropped Friday's contest against FIU 2-4 before defeating FAU Sunday afternoon 1-0.
After a scoreless first half in Friday's match against FIU, the second half brought six goals, with the Lady Toppers falling short by two. FIU outshot the Lady Toppers 16-8. Leading the Lady Toppers with two goals was junior forward Mallory Outerbridge earning four points in the match. Outerbridge tallied four shots on goal as sophomore Sydney Sisler posted three shots with one on goal. Junior goalkeeper Libby Stout posted six saves in the match.
Sunday's 1-0 win over FAU marked the first victory in Florida for the Lady Toppers since 2006 when WKU defeated FIU in Boca Raton, Fla.
Lady Topper freshman Katrina Ott scored the lone goal for WKU in the 37th minute of action, earning her first goal of the season in the match. The assist came from junior Lindsay Williams for her second assist of the season. WKU outshot FAU 20-6 with nine shots on goal as FAU posted only one shot on goal. Others posting shots for the Lady Toppers were sophomore Laura Ray with four shots and one on goal, while Williams had three shots with two on goal. Junior goalkeeper Libby Stout tallied her fifth shutout of the season and 26th career shutout.
•RECORD BOOK: With 13 games in the books for the season, junior forward Mallory Outerbridge and junior goalkeeper Libby Stout have moved up in the record books. Outerbridge now sits in fifth place for career goals with 21, one goal shy of fourth place held by former Lady Topper Kellie Walker (2006-09). With last weekend's two goals, Outerbridge moved to fifth place in career points with 51, now 14 points shy of fourth place held by former Lady Topper Kristin Cocchiarella (2005-08). In the single-match category, Outerbridge made her mark in third place with six points scored in the 4-0 victory over Evansville (9/3/10). At goal, Libby Stout holds a strong lead with 26 career shutouts. Stout sits in second for career saves with 216. Stout also holds second in the career win category with 30 wins, seven shy of former Lady Topper Meredith Goodson (2004-07).
•MIX IT UP: With a squad boasting 21 sophomore and freshman and 10 junior and seniors there are numerous different combinations to be played. This season 10 sophomore and freshman have started a match while eight others have seen the field, totaling 18 sophomore and freshman seeing the playing field for the WKU Lady Toppers.
•NON-CONFERENCE PLAY: Overall the Lady Toppers have gone 47-26-7 in non-conference matches and 2-3-2 in 2010. In the opening season (2001) the Lady Toppers earned the most non-conference wins with eight. In 2009, WKU went 5-2-1 in non-conference matches.
•SBC HONORS: Junior forward Mallory Outerbridge was honored September 7th as she was named Sun Belt Conference Soccer Player of the Week. Outerbridge posted two goals and two assists in the WKU 4-0 victory over Evansville. The two goals marked a career-high goals in a single match for Outerbridge. The two goals and two assists earned her six points in the match, a career-high points in a single match for Outerbridge. The six points also puts her tied for third on WKU's all-time single game points list. This was Outerbridge's first career player of the week award.
•SUN BELT CONFERENCE PRESEASON RESPECT: The All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team, released August 19 by the league, had two Lady Toppers voted to the team. Mallory Outerbridge and Libby Stout were chosen for the All-SBC Conference team for the second consecutive season. The complete All-Sun Belt Conference Preseason Team is listed on page 4.
•WITHIN STRIKING DISTANCE: The coaches around the league seem to think the Lady Toppers are capable of challenging for the Sun Belt Conference championship. The Lady Toppers found themselves picked to finish third in the league for the second consecutive season, in the preseason coaches poll. Denver and FIU were picked ahead of the Lady Toppers. Nine points separated the Lady Toppers and the Panthers, while WKU trailed Denver by 22 points. The complete preseason coaches poll is listed on page 4.
•A MIX OF NEW AND OLD: The 2010 Lady Topper squad has a blend of new and returning talent on the roster. Five of the 11 starters are back from the 2009 team, and the team welcomes 10 freshmen and one transfer. Graduate Assistant coach and former Lady Topper Leslie King transitions from the playing field to the coaching staff in 2010. King will assist with goalkeeping instruction and other team practice duties, along with administrative tasks.
•LIVE STATS-WEBSTREAMING: For those who can't make it to the WKU Soccer Complex for this weekends matches, follow the Lady Toppers via livestats and webstreaming at: www.WKUsports.com
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