BOX SCORE
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — The Western Kentucky University soccer team battled the FIU Golden Panthers for 110 minutes Friday night at the WKU Soccer Complex with the match ending in a scoreless draw. Both teams had 14 shots on the night with each side putting six shots on frame.
"We came tonight to win, but it was a really good game between two quality teams," said head coach Jason Neidell following the Lady Toppers first tie of the season. "It's a team we might see again. They're a well-coached team, they had a good gameplan, and it was a really exciting game. We would have liked to win. I thought we had some chances in overtime to finish it off. At the end of the day, I was proud of the way our girls competed tonight."
WKU (7-5-1, 2-2-1 Sun Belt) had the first chance on goal in the ninth minute when Lindsay Goad had her shot from the top of the 18-yard box go wide. In the 19th minute Amanda Buechel had a shot deflected, then had another shot off that deflection go wide. FIU (7-5-1, 4-0-1 Sun Belt) had its first shot in the 22nd minute when Chelsea Leiva's attempt at goal was blocked. Lady Toppers' senior goalkeeper Libby Stout made her first save of the night in the 33rd minute as Nicole DePerna's shot inside the 18-yard box went right to her. The Panthers had a chance late in the first half on a corner, but Sara Stewart's header went over the goal.
The Lady Toppers looked to be close to the breakthrough goal in the 53rd minute, working the counter as a header by FIU's Deana Rossi was stopped by Stout. WKU got the ball quickly through midfield but as the ball was played to Mallory Outerbridge, the offside flag went up. Goad came close to scoring in the 74th minute, but her low shot was stopped by FIU goalkeeper Kaitlyn Savage. FIU had four shots in the last 12 minutes regulation but could not find the back of the net, forcing extra time.
FIU outshot WKU 3-1 in the first overtime, with Stout making a save on a DiPerna shot in the in the 95th minute. The Lady Toppers' lone shot came quickly after, as a Kaylyn Pratt shot off the counter attack was saved by Savage. WKU had a great opportunity 5:27 in to the second overtime as Outerbridge and Nicolette Sartori crossed the ball to Buechel. The redshirt-senior forward took the ball down to the endline and fired on goal, only to have her shot go into the sidenetting of the goal.
In the 108th minute, Outerbridge got in behind the Panthers defense and shot the ball lfrom 10 yards out with Savage making a diving save to keep the game goalless. WKU had one last chance with four seconds remaining. Kelsey Meyer took a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box after an FIU foul, but her attempt went over the goal and the match ended in a 0-0 tie.
Meyer, Goad, and Buechel each had three shots to lead the Lady Toppers Friday night. Both Stout and Savage made six saves in the draw to earn shutouts. The scoreless tie is WKU's first since playing Mississippi to a 0-0 draw on August 27, 2010.
"Physically we competed hard tonight, but we still just need to be a little bit cleaner technically in some areas," added Neidell. "We played a good team and you need to play good. We played fine, but we need to be sharper in what we're doing."
WKU wraps up its longest homestand of the season Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. match against Florida Atlantic at the WKU Soccer Complex.
