BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — One week into Conference USA play and WKU Soccer sits atop the league standings with six points after a 2-1 win against Middle Tennessee on Sunday night in Bowling Green. The Lady Toppers are 2-0-0 in C-USA and improve to 7-1-0 on the season with the win.
"We knew this already, but every game in conference is going be tightly contested," said head coach Jason Neidell. "There's a lot of parity in our league and there's a lot of good teams. It's always challenging on any given day, no matter who your opponent is, to get three points and get a W."
It was WKU's third straight win against Middle Tennessee, giving the Lady Toppers a 9-6-6 advantage in the series.
Neither team could find the back of the net in the first half, but WKU had several chances. The Lady Toppers outshot the Blue Raiders 9-7 in the half and put three shots on goal.
WKU struck first in the 68th minute on a corner kick. Brina Micheels took the corner for WKU and placed the ball inside the box to Sydney Ernst. Ernst took a point-blank shot, but the Blue Raider goalkeeper punched it back out. The ball went in the air and Lyric Schmidt found it and headed it into the goal.
The Lady Toppers' second goal came on a penalty kick after a takedown in the box by Middle Tennessee. Avery Jacobsen took the kick for WKU and sent it in for her third goal of the season. The Blue Raiders avoided the shutout with a goal in the 89th minute," said Neidell.
"I thought we were knocking on the door for a little bit in the second half and it just seemed like it was a matter of time. We just kept working hard and kept fighting and scraping and good things happened for us.
It was Schmidt's first career goal as a Lady Topper. Jacobsen is now tied for the team's points leader with eight on three goals and two assists.
The Lady Toppers return to action on Friday, Sept. 24 at UAB at 7 p.m. WKU will be back home on Saturday, Oct. 2 against Rice at 7 p.m.
How to follow the Lady Toppers: For complete information on WKU Soccer, visit WKUSports.com or follow the program via social media @WKU_Soccer on Twitter and Instagram and @WKUSoccer on Facebook.
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