BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – WKU will continue its month-long trek away from home on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. as the Lady Toppers head south to battle Louisiana Tech in their second C-USA clash of the season.
The Lady Toppers (2-4-2, 0-1-0 C-USA) are coming off a 1-0 overtime setback at Southern Miss last Sunday afternoon in their second of five straight matches on the road. WKU had good chances throughout the match but was unable to capitalize as the Golden Eagles fired the golden goal just six minutes into the first frame of extra time.
Freshmen Ambere Barnett and Olivia Stanley lead the Lady Toppers on the attack, scoring three goals each just past the halfway point of the regular season. Junior Chandler Backes has also put pressure on opposing goalkeepers, attempting 21 shots and nine shots on goal in eight matches played. Redshirt senior midfielder Sarah Gorham has been a consistent presence on the pitch, playing a team-high 744 minutes this season, assisting on two goals and scoring once.
As a team, WKU has combined to score 15 goals in 2018 and has attempted an average of 16.3 shots per game. On defense, the Lady Toppers have allowed just 11 goals on 85 shots, with only 38 shots on target.
Bailee Witt has held WKU's opponents to either zero or one goal in six of the eight matches played this season. The Plainfield, Ill., native has 27 saves and sports a 1.34 goals against average in just over 741 minutes of action between the posts.
Louisiana Tech (8-3, 1-1 C-USA) enters Sunday's match coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over Old Dominion on Friday evening. Despite a second-half rally by the Monarchs, Jaelyn Peeples netted the match-winner for the Lady Techsters just under three minutes into extra time to come away with the victory. Kaylee Zettler (six) and Mylene Roy-Ouellet (five) have combined to score 11 of Louisiana Tech's 24 goals this season; Roy-Ouellet also leads the team with 15 total points. Peeples and Roy-Ouellet both hold the team lead with five assists through 11 matches.
In goal, the Lady Techsters have three different goalkeepers who have played at least 180 minutes this season, led by Carlotta Cartelli's 514 minutes of action. Cartelli has surrendered only two goals with 17 saves, good for a 0.35 goals against average. Against Old Dominion, Courtney Tompkins drew the start between the posts and gave up two goals before Cartelli subbed on in the 78th minute and earned the victory.
Should WKU pick up a win on Sunday afternoon, it would continue a strong run in matches played in the state of Louisiana throughout program history. The Lady Toppers hold an 8-3-2 record in 13 matches in the Gulf Coast state, with all but three of those tilts coming against former Sun Belt rivals Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe. A win would also give WKU its first on the road against the Lady Techsters in school history.
Following Sunday's match, the Lady Toppers will be off the pitch until Friday, Sept. 28, at 6 p.m. when WKU makes the trip to Charlotte. WKU will then play one more match on the road (at Old Dominion on Sept. 30) 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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