On Saturday, the Lady Topper soccer team will travel to Huntington, West Virginia for a bout with Marshall at 6:00 p.m. CT in the team’s inaugural league game within Conference USA.

The Lady Toppers are currently 5-2 on the season and coming off a 1-0 victory against Indiana State this past Friday. Marshall is currently 3-3-2 and coming off of a 2-1 loss against Miami (Ohio).

“We had an opportunity to look at game film, not only on Marshall, but on all our Conference USA opponents,” Head Coach Jason Neidell said. “We can look at game film all day long, but we are really heading into unfamiliar territory because we just have not played them, and we don’t know how the matchups will play out.”

One key matchup for the Lady Toppers will be defending senior forward Kristine Culicerto, who leads the Thundering Herd in goals (5) and points (11).

A specific theme for this week’s practices has been consistency with the ball on offense, according to Neidell.

 “On offense, we need to work on our ability to keep possession of the ball, and move up the field together as a unit,” Neidell said.

Marshall is the fourth of a five-game road trip for the Lady Toppers, which can be a double-edged sword, said Neidell.

“Being on the road for basically a month will start to take a toll on the team,” Neidell said. “But it will help us out long term as we head to the meatier part of the conference schedule.”