Match #19:
Middle Tennessee (10-7-1, 7-2-1) at WKU (11-6-1, 6-3-1)
Friday, October 28 // 6 p.m.
WKU Soccer Complex // Bowling Green, Ky.

The Week Ahead...

• The Lady Toppers host Middle Tennessee Friday night at the WKU Soccer Complex to close the regular season. WKU is unbeaten against the Blue Raiders all-time at the WKU Soccer Complex, compiling a record of 2-0-4.

• Friday’s match could be a preview of what WKU can expect to see in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. A win over Middle Tennessee would vault the Lady Toppers over the Blue Raiders in the standings, but the two teams would still meet in the #4/#5 game in the tournament.

WEEKEND RECAP:  The Lady Toppers split games last weekend against Troy and South Alabama. On Thursday night, WKU fell behind Troy 1-0 11 minutes in and despite three good chances in the second half were shutout at home by the Trojans. The Lady Toppers bounced back with a 1-0 win at South Alabama on Sunday. Freshman Allie Auscherman’s tally in the 80th minute, her first career goal, gave WKU the key road win.

STELLAR SENIOR CLASS:  According to research by collegesoccer360.com, the current senior class is among the top-40 in terms of wins. Since 2008, Libby Stout, Lindsay Williams, Lindsay Goad, Kelsey Meyer, Mallory Outerbridge, and Kaylyn Pratt have led WKU to a record of 49-20-10. These six players have also kept the Lady Toppers in the top-half of the Sun Belt in each of their four seasons, reaching the 2008 Sun Belt Tournament final and the 2010 Sun Belt Tournament semifinals.

STOUT’S NUMBERS STUNNING IN LAST SEVEN STARTS: Senior goalkeeper Libby Stout had her scoreless streak capped at 518:59, giving up a goal nearly 11 minutes into Thursday night’s game against Troy. WKU’s all-time leader in goalkeeper wins, shutouts, goals against average, and save percentage, Stout earned her 36th career shutout Sunday at South Alabama. In her last seven starts, Stout has allowed one goal in 641:32 of action for a 0.14 goals against average. She has also made 23 saves with a .958 save percentage. Stout currently leads the Sun Belt with a 0.77 goals against average and is 40th nationally.

FIRST GOAL WINS: WKU is 10-0 this season when scoring the first goal of a game, and only 1-5 when the opponent scores first. That has become more apparent in the Lady Toppers’ last four games, which have all been decided by 1-0 scores. This stretch of one goal games marks the fifth time since 2005 that WKU has had a stretch of at least four consecutive games decided by one goal or less. Nine of the Lady Toppers’ last 11 matches have been decided by one goal or less.