WKU Soccer: 2017 Season Preview
Well, the wait is finally almost over.
Tomorrow night, the 2017/18 WKU athletics year kicks off, literally, as the WKU soccer squad opens its season with the first of a three-game road trip at Lipscomb.
The Lady Tops turned in a 12–6–1 record last season, including a 7–3–0 C-USA record and an even more impressive 7–2–0 mark at home.
Senior, then-junior, goalkeeper Allison Leone posted a 533-minute scoreless spanning five matches before giving up a pair of goals to North Texas in a 2–1 Lady Tops’ defeat.
Overall in 2016, the Lady Tops averaged 1.63 goals per contest and outscored their opposition 31–13 on the season.
2017 see’s a changing of the guard of sorts, as Iris Dunn has departed due to graduation after a stellar career on the Hill, posting 22 goals and six assists and netting 10 game winners.
Having said that, WKU returns its leading scorer from last year, in now sophomore Chandler Backes, who posted a 10-goal effort in 19 games last year, also posting a 59.3% shooting percentage.
Also returning is Hannah Chua, who has eight goals in her first three years on the Hill.
The aforementioned Leone is looking to improve upon her year last year and cap her career on the Hill, having posted 22 total shutouts and won 30 games between the posts. Entering her final year, she’s made 225 saves and has posted a 0.99 goals against average.
How will the Lady Tops fair this year? That is a question that doesn’t have an easy answer — the scoring from WKU last year was insane, by soccer standards, and while they lost a ton of firepower with Dunn leaing, Backes, Chua and a busy senior class are looking to lead the Tops past the first round of the C-USA tournament.
Through two exhibitions, the Lady Tops have been outscored 6–0, but they were shutout in last year’s exhibition against Murray State, so what really can you learn from that?
Anyway, we should get a clearer picture of what the year will bring tomorrow. The season begins at 7 p.m. at Lipscomb, and every WKU game this year is free, for anyone, so get out to the WKU Soccer Complex to support them.
If you’re a WKU soccer die-hard, or are wanting to be, and want to write in-depth about them for The Towel Rack, feel free to reach out via Twitter and let us know!
What questions and expectations do you have surrounding the Lady Tops season for 2017? What do you think about them? Which color is your favorite? Let us know in a comment below, via Twitter at @TheTowelRackWKU or on our Facebook page.
