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BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU is set to kick off Conference USA play on Sunday afternoon as the Lady Toppers travel to Hattiesburg, Miss., for a tilt against Southern Miss to begin Year 5 as a member of the league.
The Lady Toppers (2-3-2) are looking to bounce back after dropping a 2-0 decision to Vanderbilt in the first of five consecutive matches on the road. Bailee Witt made a career-high eight saves on the night, continuing a streak of impressive performances for the freshman goalkeeper.
Freshman midfielder Ambere Barnett and freshman forward Olivia Stanley lead the Lady Toppers on the attack, scoring three goals each at the halfway point of the regular season. Junior forward Chandler Backes has also put pressure on opposing goalkeepers, attempting eighteen shots and eight shots on goal in seven matches played. Redshirt senior midfielder Sarah Gorham has been a consistent presence on the pitch, playing a team-high 648 minutes this season, assisting on two goals and scoring once.
As a team, WKU has combined to score fifteen goals in 2018 and has attempted an average of 17 shots per game. On defense, the Lady Toppers have allowed just ten goals on 75 shots, with only 36 shots on target.
Witt has held WKU's opponents to either zero or one goal in five of the seven matches played this season. The Plainfield, Ill., native has 26 saves and sports a 1.40 goals against average in just under 645 minutes of action between the posts.
Southern Miss (6-1) enters Sunday's match on a six-match winning streak, with their last defeat coming nearly one month ago against Mississippi State, in which the Golden Eagles were shut out, 3-0. In their most recent match on Sept. 13, Southern Miss secured a 6-1 victory on the road at Jackson State, as freshman midfielder Olivia Durham led the Golden Eagles with two goals on the day, with four other Golden Eagles tallying one goal apiece. Sophomore midfielder Miah Zuazua leads the Golden Eagles with seven goals and 18 points on the season.
In goal, sophomore Kendall Mindnich has played well over 340 minutes for Southern Miss, collecting 13 saves across five matches played. The Golden Eagles have registered five shutout victories this season.
A win would continue WKU's unbeaten run against Southern Miss, as the Lady Toppers have not lost to the Golden Eagles since WKU joined Conference USA in 2014. Most recently, WKU traveled to Hattiesburg for a match last season, playing to a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes. Since joining the conference, WKU owns a 3-1 record in C-USA openers.
Following Sunday's match, the Lady Toppers will be off until the following Sunday, Sept. 23, when the team travels to Ruston, La., to take on the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech. WKU will then play two more matches on the road before returning to the WKU Soccer Complex on Friday, Oct. 5, at 6 p.m. as the Lady Toppers host FIU in their C-USA home opener.
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