WKU Hosts North Texas Sunday Afternoon to Close Brief Homestand

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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU will seek to bounce back on Sunday afternoon after dropping its home C-USA opener as the Lady Toppers host North Texas at 1 p.m. at the WKU Soccer Complex.

The Lady Toppers (3-6-1, 0-2-1 C-USA) and Mean Green (6-2-2, 1-0-1 C-USA) have met more often than any other opponent in program history, having faced one another 22 times on the pitch. North Texas owns a 13-7-2 edge in the all-time series, and WKU will be looking for its first win over the Mean Green since a 2-0 victory in Bowling Green on Oct. 21, 2012; WKU holds a 5-2-1 lead over North Texas in matches played in Bowling Green.

The reigning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week Christina Bragado will lead WKU's back line into Sunday's match, having played every minute thus far in 2017. Despite a 2-0 setback against Rice on Thursday evening, the Lady Topper defense has surrendered just 10 goals across 10 matches this season and has helped to produce three shutouts against Lipscomb, UT Martin and Southern Miss.

Chandler Backes and Hannah Chua each had strong scoring chances against the Owls on Thursday, as Backes' 59th minute header and Chua's blast toward the center of the goal off a corner kick in the 66th minute both required outstretched saves from Rice goalkeeper Maya Hoyer. The duo has combined for 39 shots and 11 points this season.

Freshman Deven Jackson drew her first collegiate start against the Owls and has seen an increased role in the midfield in recent matches. The Auckland, New Zealand, native has launched four shots in 2017 and is one of three freshmen, alongside Avery Jacobsen and Tally Bishop, to start at least one match for the Lady Toppers this season.

Between the posts for WKU, C-USA Goalkeeper of the Week Allison Leone has collected three solo shutouts and 52 saves this season. In three C-USA matches, Leone owns 22 saves and a 0.89 goals against average across 304 minutes of action. With her individual award from the conference office this week, Leone joined Amanda Buechel atop WKU's all-time list of individual weekly awards as she earned her third C-USA Goalkeeper of the Week honor.

For North Texas, seven different players have scored at least two goals, led by Berklee Peters' five strikes across 10 matches. Peters also leads the Mean Green with 13 points on the season and is joined in double figures by Ariel Diaz with 10 (four goals, two assists). North Texas has averaged 22.6 shots per game and is outshooting its opponents by a 226-134 margin.

In goal, both Miranda Schoening (490 minutes) and Brooke Bradley (450 minutes) have seen extensive time for the Mean Green. Schoening holds a slim edge in goals against average, 0.73 to 0.80, and owns a 4-2 overall record; Bradley has an undefeated 2-0-2 mark with 21 saves and one solo shutout.

North Texas is undefeated in its last six matches, notching four wins and a pair of ties over that span. In their last time out, the Mean Green tallied eight goals in an 8-0 shutout of Mid-America Christian University on Thursday evening, led by two goals apiece from Diaz, Katie Gernsbacher and Natalie Newell; North Texas also fell just one shot shy of matching its program record in a single match, firing 55 shots against the Evangels.

WKU will return to the road for its next two C-USA matches following Sunday's tilt, traveling south to face archrival Middle Tennessee next Friday at 7 p.m. before visiting UAB at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8. The Lady Toppers earned victories over both the Blue Raiders and the Blazers in Bowling Green last season and hold a lead in both overall series; WKU leads the series over Middle Tennessee by a narrow 6-5-6 margin and holds a 2-0-1 lead over UAB.

WKU Hosts North Texas Sunday Afternoon to Close Brief Homestand

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Players Mentioned

Chandler Backes

Tally Bishop

Christina Bragado

Hannah Chua

Deven Jackson

Avery Jacobsen

Allison Leone