The WKU soccer team will be playing its third game of the season and its first tournament of the season on Friday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  

The Lady Toppers started off the season strong with a 3-1 win over University of Tennessee-Martin at home in their opening game. WKU entered its second game against Miami of Ohio hoping to continue forward with that form, but fell 4-0 decision. 

“We’re still trying to find ourselves. We actually played really, really well for about 75 minutes against Miami, did the things we wanted to do on the attacking side,” Head Coach Jason Neidell said. “I think we were having some problems with defensive transition, which is what we are working on … We just have to minimize or eliminate the mistakes that we’re making.” 

The offense did find some production from freshman forward Hannah Cady with four shots throughout the afternoon. Senior forward Lauren Moats contributed three shots to the team’s total of 17 shots on the day, with nine shots on goal.   

Junior forward Iris Dunn and junior midfielder Caitlin Hesse, along with senior defender Alanna Clancey, contributed two shots each.

The loss leaves WKU at 1-1-0 and Miami undefeated through two games. 

The Lady Toppers will look to improve off their last performance as they go into Battle of the Bayou, hosted by LSU. 

“LSU has a really, really dynamic forward that we’re going to have to try to figure out how to deal with, and obviously a great deal of speed and athleticism overall,” Neidell said. “It’s going to be a real challenge to go down in the heat on their home field. They’ve got a very, very strong team.”

WKU will face LSU this Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Stephen F. Austin on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. The next home game for the Lady Tops will be Sept. 6 against Valparaiso at 1:00 p.m. 

“We’re really looking to some of our veterans to bring us the experience and communication needed on the field,” Neidell said. “In particular, we are looking for Chandler Clark to step up and have a good weekend, as well as Hannah Chua in the midfield. And then obviously, Lauren Moats.”