HOW IT HAPPENED
The Tops wasted no time offensively to start the match. Only 38 seconds into play, Danielle Lewin finds the ball in the attacking third, firing it into the net to put the Tops on the board first. The WKU offense managed to get off three more shots, before Alyvia Walls doubled the lead with a ball over the goalkeeper's hands in the 16th minute after a corner kick from Danielle Lewin. WKU continued to control the match offensively when Makenna Egan found the rebound of Rylee Finol's shot to put the Hilltoppers up, 3-0. Rylee Finol quickly responded with a goal of her own to the top right corner of the net. Midfielder Georgia Liapis made a strong drive down field, found Makenna Egan who fed the ball right back to her. Liapis launched the ball from the top of the box into the goal for the Hilltoppers' season-high fifth goal. Jax State managed to get off two shots in the last few minutes of the half, but both were off target.
The Hilltopper offense came into the second half still dominant. In the 54th minute, freshman defender Raegan Thompson sends a ball deep into the box, where Cena Carlson heads it home to make it 6-0 Hilltoppers. Shortly after, Jax State pushes into its attacking half before April McDonald sends the ball the other way to Lewin. Lewin takes it downfield, beats the defender and finds the back of the net for her second goal of the night. Jax State gets on the board in the 82nd minute, but the Tops continue to push offensively. Four Hilltoppers record shots in the final minutes, as WKU secures the 7-1 victory.
QUOTABLE
"We wanted to come out hot and defend our home turf," said Head Coach Jason Neidell. "One of the things we talked about going into the game was finding more opportunities to shoot. Dani started us off perfectly with a look at goal and she put it away. That started things off on the right foot. I'm really excited about the performance from our team tonight. We really took care of the critical fives and every time we scored a goal, we just refocused. We had a lot of players play tonight that haven't gotten to play much and they came up big and performed well."
"I trusted my teammates," said senior forward Danielle Lewin on her two-goal performance tonight. "I know they support me. They are always encouraging me and telling me to shoot early and often, so I did as they said."
NOTABLES
- The Hilltoppers' seven goals tonight go down as the most scored in a conference match in WKU program history
- WKU scored five first-half goals, surpassing its previous season high of goals in a game
- 24 Hilltoppers recorded in minutes tonight's match
- Danielle Lewin secured the first brace of her WKU career with her second and third goals of the season
- Rylee Finol recorded a career-high three points with her first goal and assist of the season
- With her eighth goal of the season tonight, Makenna Egan is now tied for 10th in program history for single-season goals
- Alyvia Walls' goal was her third of the season, with all three coming in the last four games
- Freshman Raegan Thompson and graduate April McDonald both recorded their first assist of the season
- Cena Carlson scored her second goal of the season
- WKU outshot Jax State 18-7, while limiting the Gamecocks to zero shots on goal
- WKU moves to 3-0-2 against Jax State all-time
NEXT UP
The Hilltoppers will continue CUSA play with their final home match of the season against New Mexico State on Sunday Oct. 25 at 1 p.m. CT. Admission to all WKU Soccer games at the WKU Soccer Complex is free.
