Lady Toppers to play first road game against in-state rival Cardinals
Junior forward Katie Erwin keeps the ball away from a defender during the Hilltoppers’ season opener against Austin Peay on Aug. 19, 2021. Erwin would score a goal and provide an assist during the match.
September 4, 2021
The Lady Toppers (3-0-0) are on their way to Louisville as they are scheduled to take the field at Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium to face off against the Louisville Cardinals (4-0-0) on Sunday evening.
WKU Soccer is off to its best start since the 2009 season as United Soccer Coaches currently rank WKU at No. 5 in the south region below UCF, Rice, USF and Memphis. The Lady Toppers are ranked above Lipscomb, SMU, North Texas, North Florida and Cincinnati.
A win against Louisville tomorrow night would clinch WKU’s best start to a season since 2001.
WKU was scheduled to face Tennessee Tech at home this past Thursday to conclude their four-game season-opening homestand, but COVID-19 complications within the Golden Eagle’s program caused the match to be canceled indefinitely.
Sophomore midfielder Brina Micheels has been a vital part of WKU’s offense as she has collected four points so far this season with two goals scored against the Vanderbilt Commodores in week three. Micheels was named Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
Graduate defender Avery Jacobsen has also played a significant part of WKU’s success, earning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third time in her collegiate career on Monday after notching one goal and one assist against the Commodores.
The Lady Toppers shut out the Cardinals 1-0 this past spring season at home as WKU sophomore midfielder Annah Hopkins found the back of the net early to notch the game-winning goal and take down their ACC opponent.
The Louisville Cardinals have stayed undefeated so far this season, defeating Western Michigan, James Madison, Northern Kentucky and Saint Louis.
The Cardinals have notched a total of 14 goals while holding their opponents to only five goals over the course of those four matches.
Louisville sophomore forward Emma Hiscock is the Cardinals’ leading scorer with three goals so far this season.
Freshman midfielder Brooke Dardano is another efficient player on the Cardinals’ roster as she has tallied up one goal and four assists.
Louisville graduate goalkeeper Gabby Kouzelos has been efficient at shielding the net with a 1.25 goals against-average and has collected a total of 12 saves.
The Lady Toppers take the field to face off against the Cardinals on Sunday, Sept. 5 with first kick set for 6:30 p.m. CT.
Soccer reporter Drew Toennies can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @drew_toennies.
