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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. -- WKU turned in a strong performance and had several scoring chances down the stretch in the second half, but the Lady Toppers could not overcome an early sixth-minute goal in a tightly-contested 1-0 decision against LSU at the WKU Soccer Complex on Thursday evening.
The Lady Toppers (3-3-0) were led by a trio of shots from freshman Christina Bragado, while senior Iris Dunn also chipped in offensively with a pair of shots. Between the pipes, Allison Leone played the full 90 minutes while making three saves.
Delaney Sheehan tallied the lone goal of the match for LSU (4-3-0) at the 5:08 mark off a corner from Marlena Cutura. Jorian Baucom, the Tigers' leading scorer, fired three shots on the night to match teammate Debbie Hahn for the team high. Caroline Brockmeier also played the full match in goal for the Tigers, making four saves and earning credit for the shutout.
LSU challenged the Lady Topper defense with a flurry of shots over the opening five minutes, including efforts by Summer Clarke that was blocked by a defender and a strike from Baucom that was snared by Leone. The Tigers grabbed an early 1-0 lead off Cutura's corner kick in the sixth minute as she found the head of Sheehan at the far post to beat Leone.
WKU battled back despite the deficit, pushing Brockmeier into action on a strong header by Bragado just three minutes later. The Lady Toppers earned four corners in a 15-minute span and nearly found the back of the net on Olivia Fitzgerald's header at the 12:21 mark. The senior sent a headed effort on goal that was cleared off the line by an LSU defender after Brockmeier was caught out of position.
The Lady Toppers again had an opportunity to equalize in the 39th minute as Shayna Dheel controlled the ball in space after losing her defender. The junior fired toward the goal but sent the chance just high as LSU carried its 1-0 advantage into the locker room break.
Bragado and Haley Baldridge each had chances in the first 15 minutes of the second half. Baldridge fired a strike from 25 yards out following a corner, but Brockmeier made the stand-up save to deny the chance, while Bragado's header off a Nicole Roseland corner nine minutes later was also collected by the LSU goalkeeper.
WKU held possession in LSU's defensive half over much of the final 10 minutes of play but could not break through the Tigers' defense. Caitlin Hesse's chance from the top of the box with 40 seconds remaining sailed wide left of the goal, allowing the Tigers to hold on for the victory.
WKU will return to action for its final home non-conference match of the season on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. as Morehead State travels to the WKU Soccer Complex. The Lady Toppers own a 6-1 record all-time against the Eagles, including a 2-1 double overtime victory in the program's very first match on Aug. 31, 2001.
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.
