BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU is set to wrap up its four-game homestand with its final non-conference home match of the season, hosting Morehead State at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon at the WKU Soccer Complex.
The Lady Toppers enter the contest with a 3-3-0 overall record after falling in a tightly-contested match against LSU on Thursday evening. WKU controlled possession for much of the game and had several strong scoring opportunities, but a sixth-minute goal by the Tigers was just enough for the victory.
In the series between the two sides, WKU holds a 6-1 all-time advantage over the Eagles. The Lady Toppers earned a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Morehead State in the program's first-ever match on Aug. 31, 2001.
WKU features the reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week in freshman Chandler Backes, whose five goals and 11 points lead the Lady Toppers this season. Backes also became WKU's first honoree on a national team of the week since 2004 on Tuesday after receiving the honor from Top Drawer Soccer.
Defensively, senior Olivia Fitzgerald leads all Lady Toppers with 535 minutes played out of a possible 556 in 2016. The Carmel, Ind., native has anchored WKU's defense in the middle and turned in a strong performance against LSU, holding top scorer Jorian Baucom scoreless on Thursday evening.
Morehead State (3-2-1) comes into Sunday's bout on an undefeated streak of three matches, with two wins and a scoreless draw during that stretch. In their last time out on Friday night, the Eagles downed Western Carolina, 2-1, behind goals from Cara Maher and Morgan Vonderheide. Eva Yr Helgadottir played the full 90 minutes in goal for Morehead State, making four saves while surrendering only an 89th-minute goal.
Ashley Ritchie leads the Eagles with three goals and an assist thus far in 2016, and five different players have found the back of the net for the team. Ritchie also leads the squad with 13 shots, following closely by 10 shots from Dani Wilson.
In goal, Caitlynn Mason has seen the majority of action with 14 saves in 305 minutes of playing time, while Helgadottir has notched 10 stops in 180 minutes. Michelle Washburn has also seen action for the Eagles, tallying 11 saves over 90 minutes.
Following Sunday's match, WKU will open C-USA play on Thursday evening, Sept. 15, as the team makes the trip to Huntington, W. Va., to face Marshall at 6 p.m. (CT). The Lady Toppers will then travel to Belmont next Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. to conclude non-conference play for the 2016 season.
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 six remaining regular season home matches against Morehead State, Southern Miss, Middle Tennessee, UAB, UTSA and Old Dominion.
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.
