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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For the first time this season, WKU will play just one match this weekend as the Lady Toppers welcome Evansville to the WKU Soccer Complex on Sunday evening at 6 p.m. for a non-conference clash.
Sunday's match will double as WKU's Youth Soccer Day, with youth soccer teams in attendance being recognized and the first 100 fans receiving free Big Red rally towels. As with all WKU home matches this season, all fans will receive free admission to Sunday's match.
In their last time out, the Lady Toppers claimed a dramatic 1-0 victory over UT Martin last Sunday afternoon, downing the Skyhawks on Ashley Leonard's golden goal in the 94th minute of play. The freshman lofted a long shot over the UT Martin goalkeeper from the edge of the box for her first collegiate goal and WKU's second victory of the season, pushing the Lady Toppers to 2-2 overall after two weeks of play.
True freshmen have scored both of WKU's match-winning goals this season, as Tally Bishop scored the winner in the season opener at Lipscomb. When paired with Leonard's strike, WKU is one of only 13 Division I schools across the nation that have had multiple freshmen score match-winning goals thus far in 2017.
In goal, Allison Leone turned in her second solo shutout of the season against the Skyhawks and has posted 112 consecutive scoreless minutes between the posts dating back to WKU's match at Austin Peay. Leone has played every minute in goal for the Lady Toppers this season and has made at least three saves in all four matches, including a season-best nine stops at Texas.
Freshmen again filled important roles for the Lady Toppers against UT Martin, with Avery Jacobsen playing all 94 minutes from her right back position. Victoria Mayo played 51 minutes off the bench and nearly notched the match-winner at the end of regulation, and Bishop saw a team-best 62 minutes as a substitute while placing two of her three shots on target.
Evansville is set to enter Sunday's match with a 2-3 overall record and dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime decision against Illinois on Thursday evening in its last time out. The Purple Aces have wins over UT Martin (2-1) and Fort Wayne (2-1) so far this season and are 1-0 in matches played on the road.
Nicki Baham leads Evansville with a pair of goals and five points, and Montana Portenier, Sara Osinski and Jayme-Lee Hunter have each found the back of the net once for the Purple Aces. Portenier leads the team with eight shots and has put five of those on target, and Maggie Leazer has played a team-best 407 minutes among field players.
Michaela Till has played all 452 minutes in goal for Evansville, tallying 16 saves while surrendering seven goals for a 1.39 goals against average. Till owns a .696 save percentage compared to Leone's .818 in the same category.
In the most recent meeting between the two sides, WKU earned a 2-0 shutout against the Purple Aces in Bowling Green on Sept. 7, 2014, behind goals from Hannah Chua and Iris Dunn. The Lady Toppers lead the all-time series against Evansville by a 6-1-1 margin and have not dropped a match against the Purple Aces since the 2005 season. Since that 4-0 setback on Aug. 28, 2005, WKU has held Evansville scoreless in six straight outings in the series.
Following Sunday's match, WKU will remain at home for a pair of matches to close the non-conference slate next weekend, hosting Vanderbilt at 6 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 8, and welcoming Samford at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10. Against the Commodores, the Lady Toppers will be aiming for their first victory against a Power 5 conference opponent since downing Ole Miss in a 2-1 double overtime bout on Aug. 22, 2008.
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