| Live Video | Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Donation Page
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU is set to play the first of its two final regular season home matches on Thursday at 7 p.m. as the Lady Toppers welcome UTSA to the WKU Soccer Complex.
Thursday's match will be a Pink Out and all fans who are wearing pink will receive free admission for the event. Donations will be accepted at the gate and at the link above for the Friends of Jaclyn Foundation, an organization that aims to improve the quality of life for children battling pediatric brain tumors and other childhood cancers by pairing them with local high school and collegiate sports teams.
The Lady Toppers (11-5-0, 6-2-0) sit atop the C-USA standings heading into Thursday's match and claimed a 1-0 victory at FIU on Sunday afternoon in their most recent match. Hannah Chua, set up by Dee Dee Green and Olivia Fitzgerald, headed home the match-winner in the 62nd minute to seal the win.
Chandler Backes, recently named one of the top 100 freshmen in the country by TopDrawerSoccer.com, leads WKU and all C-USA players with 10 goals this season. She is just the fifth Lady Topper in program history to record double-digit goals in a single season, joining Jenna Silverberg, Allison Nellis, Amanda Buechel and Mallory Outerbridge, the last of whom accomplished the feat twice.
Iris Dunn and Bria Mosley have also scored four goals apiece for the Lady Toppers in 2016, while Sarah Gorham and Chua have each tallied a pair. Gorham also leads the team with four assists and is WKU's top scoring midfielder with eight points.
Defensively, WKU has surrendered just 11 goals this season and has notched nine shutouts. Led by Fitzgerald, the defense sports three different players who have captured C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors in 2016, including Makenzie Costner and Nicole Roseland. The defense has been especially staunch in the first half, as WKU has outscored its opponents 17-3 over the opening 45 minutes in matches this season.
In goal, Allison Leone has eight solo shutout and leads the conference with a 0.60 goals against average. The junior has given up just three goals in the team's last 10 matches, good for a 0.30 goals against average over that span.
UTSA (7-9-0, 3-4-0) has won two of its last three matches, including a 3-0 victory over preseason C-USA favorite North Texas on Oct. 9. In its most recent match, UTSA picked up a 2-1 win over UAB in Birmingham, Ala., this past Sunday with goals from Brianna Livecchi and Camrynne Hoover.
Kaja Skare leads the Roadrunners offensively with seven goals and 16 points on the season, and she is one of eight players that have scored multiple goals during the 2016 campaign. Jordyn Lacy and Livecchi have each netted five goals, while Katieann Lochte has fired four of her own. Lacy also leads the team with five assists, and UTSA has gotten four helpers each from Marianne Hernandez and Channing Machen.
The Roadrunners have split their goalkeeping almost evenly between three players this season: Michelle Cole (737 minutes), Hannah Weisse (401) and Isabella Sanchez (318) have each seen extensive time between the posts. Cole leads the trio with three wins and 26 saves, while Sanchez owns a team-best 1.41 goals against average.
WKU will close out its regular season next Friday, Oct. 28, by hosting Old Dominion at the WKU Soccer Complex at 6 p.m. The match will be fans' final opportunity to see the Lady Toppers' senior class; Fitzgerald, Green, Dunn, Costner, Caitlin Hesse and Haley Baldridge; in action; each of the six members of the class will be honored in a ceremony on gameday.
Season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by phone at 1-800-5-BIGRED. Tickets for the final two remaining regular season home matches against UTSA and Old Dominion are available.
For more information on WKU Soccer, visit WKUSports.com or follow the team via social media @WKU_Soccer on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUAthletics.
