CARBONDALE, Ill. — The WKU women's soccer team earned a 4-0 shutout victory on the road on Saturday against Southern Illinois to improve to 1-1-0 on the season.
"I am so happy for our players," said head coach Jason Neidell. "It's obviously been a challenging year for everyone. Having our last three matches canceled and really not being able to train this week, I just wasn't sure what to expect today. While there are plenty of lessons to be learned from the match, I am proud of the resiliency and determination we showed. It's also exciting to see the production we are getting from our freshmen, and I was particularly glad to see Izzy (Isidora) Pekez back on the field after a long absence. We now turn our attention to the start of a very competitive conference race."
The Lady Toppers' four goals were the most scored by WKU since a 7-1 victory against Alabama A&M on Sept. 15, 2019. WKU improves to 2-0-0 against Southern Illinois all-time.
Annah Hopkins put WKU on the scoreboard first with a goal in the fifth minute. Ambere Barnett put the Lady Toppers ahead 2-0 in the first half with a goal in the 23rd minute, assisted by Avery Jacobsen.
Hopkins got her second goal of the day and extended the lead to 3-0 in the 59th minute with an assist from Barnett and Brina Micheels. Taylor Swartz put the final ball through in the 87th minute with an unassisted goal.
Ashley Kobylinski played all 90 minutes in goal for the Lady Toppers, earning the shutout with four saves in the match. It was her first career clean sheet.
WKU outshot the Salukis 13-9, including a 10-4 shots on goal differential. The Lady Toppers also took seven corners in the match and held Southern Illinois to zero in the category.
Freshmen Hopkins and Swartz scored their first collegiate goals in the match. Micheels notched her second assist of the season. Jacobsen earned her sixth career assist in the match.
Barnett netted her 13th career goal and got her 15th career assist in the match. Her 15 assists as a Lady Topper is tied for the fifth most in program history with Kristin Cocchiarella. Barnett has 41 career points in a WKU uniform, which is just two points away from breaking into the top 10 at WKU.
The Lady Toppers will next be in action on Friday, Feb. 6 at Middle Tennessee for their first Conference USA match of the season.
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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