BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — WKU Soccer hit the crossbar time and time again Saturday, but it took just one beauty off the foot of Ambere Barnett to earn the program a win in its Conference USA opener.
The sophomore Barnett fired a high, hard shot from 25 yards out off the crossbar, off the ground and into the goal in the 103rd minute, lifting the Lady Toppers over Southern Miss 1-0 in double overtime at the WKU Soccer Complex.
"What a fantastic strike by Ambere," WKU head coach Jason Neidell said. "We were looking for an opportunity to be more clinical in front of the goal, because I felt like we had left some chances on the table earlier in the game. We were just looking for someone to step and put the game away for us, and Ambere put us on her shoulders tonight."
WKU (5-2-1, 1-0 C-USA) outshot the Golden Eagles 22-7 – including several off the crossbar, and multiple on the same run at one point – but couldn't quite capitalize until Barnett's winner on her seventh shot of the day.
That found her on the bottom of a celebratory dogpile from her teammates.
The goal was Barnett's fourth of the season, tying her for the team lead, while also bringing her to a conference-high 41 shot attempts.
The victory was WKU's first in a conference-opening match since 2016.
"I was just super excited," Barnett said. "I was just ready for the game to end and to come out with the win. I was just really proud of my teammates. We all worked so hard together."
Junior Ashley Leonard was second on the team behind Barnett with three shots, including one on goal, while junior Victoria Mayo, sophomore Lyric Schmidt and freshmen Ansley Cate and Katie Erwin had two shots apiece.
Redshirt senior keeper Anne-Marie Ulliac played the full match in goal for the Lady Toppers, recording four saves.
Hailey Pohevitz and Morgan Robertson each had two shots to pace Southern Miss (5-4, 0-1). Goalkeeper Kendell Mindnich tallied six saves.
The Lady Toppers carry their three-match winning streak into the next opportunity on their seven-game homestand. They'll host league foe Louisiana Tech at 1 p.m. CT Sunday, Sept. 29 at the WKU Soccer Complex. Admission is free as it is for all WKU home matches.
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