BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU will look to bounce back from a setback at North Texas with two conference dates at home this weekend, squaring off against Middle Tennessee in a rivalry match at 6 p.m. on Friday before welcoming UAB to the WKU Soccer Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Lady Toppers (8-4-0, 3-1-0) currently sit in a three-way tie for second place in the C-USA standings alongside Charlotte and Florida Atlantic. North Texas is the lone team at the top of the league at 3-0-0, the only team to have not picked up a loss thus far in conference play.
WKU maintained its streak of earning C-USA Players of the Week on Monday, becoming the first program in conference history to pick up five consecutive honors from the league office. Goalkeeper Allison Leone, who owns C-USA's second-lowest goals against average at .722 this season, earned the first weekly honor of her career after a nine-save shutout that pushed WKU to a 1-0 victory over Rice last Friday, the Lady Toppers' first-ever win over the Owls.
In the first half of games this season, WKU is outscoring its opponents by a 14-2 margin, surrendering goals to only LSU and North Texas. The Lady Toppers also own 50 more shots across the first 12 matches of the season than their opponents, proof of the offensive pressure that the team has consistently created.
Freshman Chandler Backes remains C-USA's leading goalscorer with nine strikes in 2016, one more than North Texas' Rachel Holden and Charlotte's Megan Greene. WKU has enjoyed a balanced scoring effort, however, with Bria Mosley (4), Iris Dunn (3) and Sarah Gorham (2) all chipping in two or more goals apiece this season. In total, 10 Lady Toppers have found the back of the net.
On defense, WKU is led by Olivia Fitzgerald, who captured Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 12 and leads all Lady Toppers with 1,075 minutes played this season. She is joined along the back line by fellow Defensive Player of the Week winner Makenzie Costner, while Nicole Roseland, yet another honoree, sits just in front of the line in her holding midfielder position.
Middle Tennessee (3-7-1, 1-3-0) enters Friday's match on a three-match losing streak and has won just once in its last nine outings. Salera Jordan leads the Blue Raiders with five goals scored this season, while Sydney Chalcraft has manned the goal for Middle Tennessee, allowing 24 goals in 1,012 minutes of playing time, an average of 2.13 per match.
Friday's match will be a Red Out as fans are encouraged to wear red to support the Lady Toppers. The first 100 fans in attendance will receive a free t-shirt, and all Big Red's Rascals and WKU Soccer Camp attendees will receive free admission to the match.
On Sunday, UAB (4-6-1, 1-2-1) will head to the WKU Soccer Complex, led offensively by Jessica Do (4 goals) and Caroline Kehrer (3 goals). In goal, Kelsey Daugherty has played every minute, making 51 saves while allowing 20 goals, an average of 1.75 per outing.
Following this weekend's matches, WKU will go back on the road for clashes against Florida Atlantic (Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.) and FIU (Oct. 16 at Noon) as regular season play begins to wind down.
Season tickets are available online at WKUSports.com or by phone at 1-800-5-BIGRED. A $25 flexible ticket package is available that includes all four remaining regular season home matches against Middle Tennessee, UAB, UTSA and Old Dominion.
The 2016 WKU Soccer season is being presented by the United States Marines. This season, the Marines and WKU Athletics are working together to promote the outstanding athletic and academic achievements of our female student-athletes. The Marines are proud to work with and support these future leaders of America.
For more information on WKU Soccer, visit WKUSports.com or follow the team via social media @WKU_Soccer on Twitter and on Facebook at facebook.com/WKUAthletics.
