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HUNTINGTON, W. Va. -- Freshman Chandler Backes struck for her C-USA-leading eighth goal of the season in the 83rd minute on Thursday evening, sending WKU to a 1-0 victory over Marshall in the conference opener for both sides at Hoops Family Field.
Backes, who entered the week tied for the lead among all Division I freshmen with seven goals, outran her defender around the left side and caught Marshall (2-3-2) goalkeeper Emily Moreland out of position before slotting a shot past her into the far corner of the netting. The Lady Toppers (5-3-0) have now won four of their last five matches, and Backes has moved into a tie for eighth place on WKU's all-time single-season goalscoring list alongside Jenna Silverberg, Kristin Cocchiarella and Mallory Outerbridge.
WKU's defense turned in another strong performance, holding the Thundering Herd to just two shots overall and one on goal. The Lady Toppers, led by reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week Olivia Fitzgerald, have held four of their last five opponents to two shots on goal or fewer and have collected shutouts in three of those outings.
In goal, Allison Leone earned her second consecutive solo shutout and extended WKU's streak of not allowing a goal to 263 minutes. The junior was pressed into action only once, coming away with a stop against Marshall's Ashley Seltzer in the 14th minute.
Both sides had just one shot on goal over the opening 45 minutes. Megan Morris broke free down the left sideline and found enough space to fire a shot for WKU in the seventh minute, but Moreland made the save standing up to maintain the early deadlock. Leone's aforementioned save against Seltzer seven minutes later kept the two sides scoreless through the halftime break.
WKU stepped up its offensive pressure midway through the second half as shots from Iris Dunn and Nahyo Jalajel nearly broke the deadlock. Dunn's attempt in the 63rd minute sailed just wide of the net, while Jalajel's shot five minutes later was cleared off the line by a Thundering Herd defender to maintain the scoreless draw.
Backes finally broke through for WKU at the 82:01 mark, corralling a pass from Sarah Gorham and beating her defender with speed around the left side of the box. Catching Moreland out of position, the Carmel, Ind., native fired a strike to the far post to put the Lady Toppers ahead, 1-0, with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Nicole Roseland nearly doubled the tally with just eight seconds left on the clock, sending a blast from the edge of the box that struck the crossbar as WKU ran out the clock to earn the victory.
WKU will return to action for its final non-conference tilt of the season on Saturday afternoon at 5 p.m. as the team makes the short trip south to Nashville to take on Belmont. The Lady Toppers hold a 3-0-1 all-time mark against the Bruins and drew, 1-1, in the last meeting between the two sides on Sept. 20, 2013.
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 five remaining regular season home matches against 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.
