BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — For the first time in nearly eight months, the WKU women's soccer team took to the pitch and faced someone other than themselves. The Lady Toppers hosted UAB in a closed exhibition on Friday night and picked up a win after outshooting the Blazers 7-6 in penalty kicks following two overtime periods.
Sophia Fondren put the Lady Toppers on the board first with a goal in the 29th minute. Taylor Stanley made a move to free herself from a UAB defender and found Fondren who one-touched it into the net to give WKU a 1-0 lead.
A lightning delay sent the teams off the field right before resuming the second half. Once the delay was lifted, the teams came back out and resumed play.
Ambere Barnett wasted no time scoring seconds into the second half off of a pass from Ansley Cate. The Blazers also quickly found the back of the net, scoring only a minute later.
WKU held a 2-1 lead until the 59th minute when a UAB player sent a shot from outside the box into the goal. That score would hold the rest regulation and through two overtime periods.
Since the match was an exhibition, both coaches agreed to take penalty kicks to determine a winner. Both teams stayed even through 12 total kicks but the seventh kicker for the Blazers hit the post on her attempt. Olivia Stanley stepped up for the Lady Toppers and sent the ball past the UAB keeper for the win.
The penalty kickers for WKU were (in order of attempts) Ashley Leonard, Barnett, Fondren, Avery Jacobsen, Lyric Schmidt, Kerragan Mulzer and Stanley.
How to follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Lady Topper Soccer, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKU_Soccer on Twitter and Instagram.
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