WKU senior defender Lyric Schmidt earned Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Tuesday following a standout defensive effort in the Lady Toppers’ 1-0 shutout win against the Louisville Cardinals on Sunday night.

Schmidt prevented a Cardinal comeback, clearing the ball off the goal line to notch a team save. The weekly award is the first in Schmidt’s career.

Louisville entered the game undefeated with the Cardinals’ offense averaging 3.5 goals per game. The Cardinals suffered their first shutout loss of the season as the Lady Topper’s stellar defense completely shut down their in-state rivals.

The Lady Toppers have relented just two goals over the course of four matches and have earned three shutout wins. This stingy defensive effort up-and-down the roster had boosted WKU to a 4-0-0 record and the best start in program history since the team’s inaugural 2001 season.

The Lady Toppers will head to Nashville to face off against the Belmont Bruins for a 6:30 p.m. CT scheduled match on Thursday, Sept. 9. The Lady Toppers will then return to Bowling Green to host the SEC’s Ole Miss Rebels on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 1 p.m. CT.

Soccer reporter Drew Toennies can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @drew_toennies.