The Lady Toppers (5-1) were shut out at home by the Ole Miss Rebels (4-1-2) 1-0 on Sunday afternoon, their first loss of the season. The defeat marked the end of WKU’s nine-game home winning streak.

“Well, it’s been a long time since we’ve been down a goal,” head coach Jason Neidell said after the match. “The game of soccer, it’s hard to score, and trying to figure out how to come from behind is something that this team has not had to do and something that we learned through the process. Unfortunately came out on the wrong end today.” 

The Rebels were allowed two shots on goal in the first 15 minutes of the match. Ole Miss forward/midfielder Channing Foster took a hard shot at goalkeeper Alexis Bach, but she saved a potential score. WKU then shot back, bringing the ball upfield and putting it right before the box but didn’t see a shot at goal. 

Ole Miss got on the scoreboard in the 33rd minute after midfielder/forward Molly Martin kicked a ball just past Bach’s reach, bringing the score to 1-0. The goal was assisted by midfielder Haleigh Stackpole and marked the first time the Lady Toppers had trailed all season and just the third goal the team had surrendered.

WKU was awarded the first corner kick of the second half, which was deflected by an Ole Miss player with a header. WKU was awarded a second corner kick soon after but the Lady Toppers were not able to convert it for points.

The Rebels took back-to-back corner kicks heading into the last 15 minutes of the match, but the score still remained 1-0.

“I actually thought, ‘you know, you’re playing a tough opponent so chances are going to be hard to come by’,” Neidell said. “I thought we got the ball into the places that we wanted to, but then we weren’t purposeful or effective enough at making something happen and creating a chance to score.” 

Ole Miss took the last shot of the game in the 89th minute, finishing with seven shots on goal to WKU’s one.

“I thought today we came out and we executed the game plan, really, really well,” Neidell said. “Unfortunately, I think as the game wore on, we just got pretty fatigued and just didn’t have enough legs to finish things out.” 

WKU will begin Conference USA play on Thursday, Sept. 16 at 5 p.m. CT against Marshall in Huntington, West Virginia.

Sports reporter Cassady Lamb can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @lambp0p.