DENTON, Texas — The WKU soccer team had a tall task ahead of it Friday night, taking on North Texas in Denton. The Mean Green had not been beaten at home in 25-straight matches and 52-consecutive home conference matches. The Lady Toppers were unable to snap either streak, falling to North Texas, 2-0.
WKU falls to 8-5-1 on the season and 4-3 in Conference USA play. The Lady Tops will have a quick turnaround with a match at Rice on Sunday at 1 p.m.
As the match began, WKU seemed to be the more aggressive team as they controlled possession for much of the opening minutes. The Lady Topper offense seemed to break through as Olivia Stanley found herself with an open shot, but the goal was called off as Stanley was offsides.
Eventually, North Texas settled into its defense and began to press WKU. The Mean Green had a throw-in that set up a goal in the 13th minute. A few minutes before halftime, North Texas added to its lead after Anne-Marie Ulliac made a save but was unable to secure the ball and a Mean Green player sent it to the back of the net.
In the second half, Kaylyn Bryant had a close call as she headed the ball away from the keeper into the goal, but a North Texas defender was able to get in front of it just before it crossed the goal line.
Later in the half, Ambere Barnett also put North Texas in danger as she played up on the Mean Green keeper and was able to gain possession of the ball. With a defender to her side and the keeper behind her, Barnett quickly played the ball towards the goal but sent it wide left.
Ulliac kept the Mean Green from adding to their score in the second half. One close call came when North Texas was able to penetrate into the box and the ball pinged between WKU defenders and Mean Green offensive players. The ball finally popped out of the scrum and Ulliac was there to intercept it as it made its way into the goal through the air.
Ulliac finished the night with four saves.
Barnett was the only Lady Topper to record multiple shots in the game. Bryant, Sydney Ernst, Kerragan Mulzer and Katie Erwin also had shots in the match.
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