The match marked the second time the two teams have met in competition with the record now tied 1-1, each with a win on their home field. The match was also the final non-conference of the season and 80th in WKU history, now with an overall record of 47-26-7 in non-conference action.
The Lady Toppers came out strong with a shot on goal in the first two minutes of action by Mallory Outerbridge. WKU controlled the field for the majority of the half. At 24:39 WKU's Outerbridge put the Lady Toppers on the board with the lone goal. The goal unassisted as she kicked it into a defender, then bounced off of the goalkeeper back in front of Outerbridge as she drilled it into the right side of the goal. The goal is Outerbridge's third of the season.
"We talked about our ability to make something happen and create some chances to score off of defending and stepping up our defensive pressure," stated head coach Jason Neidell on Outerbridge's goal. "The goal was a result of really stepping up and pressing the team at their end of the field."
WKU had seven shots in the first half with three on goal, Outerbridge posted two shots on goal. The Redhawks were kept to six shots with only one on goal in the first half. Each team had one corner kick opportunity.
The pressure continued in the second half as WKU came out with the first two shots, a shot on goal came from Laura Ray. The match stayed close in the second half with both teams putting the pressure on. In the 83rd minutes Outerbridge posted a huge shot on goal coming very close to scoring her second goal of the match, but the Redhawks goalkeeper came up with a big save to keep the match within one goal. Southeast Missouri put three shots up in the final five minutes of the match but were unable to capitalize on them, with tough defending from the Lady Toppers.
WKU outshot Southeast Missouri State16-13 with seven shots on goal. Each team had two corner kick opportunities. Leading the Lady Toppers was Outerbridge with seven shots, three on goal and one goal, for two points in the match. Lindsay Williams posted three shots with one on goal, while Ray and Sydney Sisler each tallied two shots with one on goal.
Junior goalkeeper Libby Stout played the entire 90-minute match posting three saves, two big saves in the second half to shutout the Redhawks. Stout tallied her second shutout of the season, now with 23 shutouts in her career, the most for a WKU goalkeeper. Stout improves her record to 1-2-2.
Up Next: The 2010 WKU Lady Topper soccer team (2-3-2) will begin conference action next Friday as they host North Texas at 6 p.m. and welcome Denver for a Sunday afternoon showdown slated for 1:00 p.m., at the WKU Soccer Complex.
