The high hopes that the Lady Toppers had entering the Sun Belt Conference Tournament were left at just that on Wednesday night.

The third-seeded Lady Toppers (14-4-2, 9-2 Sun Belt) lost to sixth-seeded Arkansas State on penalty kicks after being unable to break a tie through two overtime periods.

Though the final score was 1-1, the Red Wolves advanced to the tournament’s semifinals after taking a 4-2 advantage on penalty kicks.

Arkansas State (8-9-3, 5-5-1 Sun Belt) struck in the 17th minute off a goal from sophomore midfielder Michele Clark.

The Lady Toppers responded eight minutes later with a goal from senior forward Megan Meinke.

Neidell said he thought his team was outplayed in the first half but was able to control the game in the second half despite being unable to break the tie.

“I thought we found our game and a little bit of a rhythm in the second half and started wearing them down,” he said. “But we missed some key opportunities to score the go-ahead goal.”

The Lady Toppers outshot Arkansas State 13 to 3 in the second period, including a shot by sophomore forward Mallory Outerbridge that struck the goal post, but were unable to find the net.

The match went into two overtime periods, but neither team was able to score.

Sophomore goalkeeper Libby Stout led off the penalty kicks for the Lady Toppers but missed her shot attempt. She then returned to her normal duty as goalkeeper, only to allow a goal by Arkansas State sophomore goalkeeper Megan Stoltzfus.

The teams both scored on two consecutive attempts before Lady Toppers’ defender Chelsea Grover missed her shot.

Lyndsey Patterson found the net on her attempt to give the Red Wolves a 4-2 advantage, sealing the win and the upset.

“I thought we played a pretty good game,” Neidell said. “I have to give credit to Arkansas State. I thought they played really hard, especially in the penalty kicks. They came out and nailed all four of their shots.”

Neidell said the early goal by Arkansas State was a “wake-up call” for his team.

“I don’t think we were playing poorly, but I don’t think we were expecting to be in the kind of battle we were in,” he said. “So I think we started playing a little harder and pushing forward a little better.”

Sophomore forward Kaylyn Pratt said the match was disappointing because the team created a number of chances that they couldn’t capitalize on.

“It stinks really badly,” she said. “We’re disappointed. All we can do is come out next year and want to win 10 times more.”

Neidell said the team’s early exit, which comes just a season removed from a trip to the conference tournament championship game, is just a roadblock on a bigger journey.

“It may be the end of the season, but we’ve got a lot of soccer left ahead of us in this program,” he said. “There are a lot great things ahead. It’s just a bump in the road. Hopefully this makes us hungry for the future.”

Neidell said most of the disappointment that the team feels is for the senior class, who leave as the winningest class in program history.

“They’ve had an unbelievable four years, and it’s heartbreaking to go out like that,” he said. “Anything less than a championship this year was going to be disappointing.”

Though the No. 3-seed Lady Toppers could be considered one of the elite teams at this week’s Sun Belt Conference tournament, Head Coach Jason Neidell said he hopes they adopt a “blue-collar” mentality in their matches.

“There’s so little that separates the talent of the teams in our league that you need something intangible to carry your team over the top,” he said. “We really want to get after it and be tough as nails and hard-working and have that quality that makes the difference between good and great.”

Sophomore forward Mallory Outerbridge said the key will be “getting down and dirty and figuring out the details.”

The Lady Toppers (14-4-1, 9-2 Sun Belt) enter the conference tournament seeded behind Florida International at No. 1 and Denver at No. 2.

The Lady Toppers play No. 6-seed Arkansas State at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in their first match of the tournament, held in Boca Raton, Fla.

The winner of that match will play either Denver or Troy, who face off at 3 p.m.

The Lady Toppers have never won the Sun Belt Conference tournament and have yet to reach the NCAA tournament, and Meinke said the team’s goal is to change that this season.

“We just need to win it,” she said. “We’re just going to play as hard as we can in order to do that.”

But Neidell said it’s going to be difficult to win three games in four days, especially with the loss of senior defender Katie Walker.

Walker broke her ankle in practice last Wednesday and will be inactive the rest of the season.

“That’s an unfortunate injury for us, because she’s a big part of that defense,” he said.

Despite the unexpected loss, Meinke said the team remains confident going into Wednesday’s matches.

“I think we have more momentum going into the postseason than last season,” she said.

The Lady Toppers lost to Denver 2-0 in the championship match of last season’s tournament.

Meinke said the team’s confidence is a result of advancing so far a year ago.

“Experience is going to be key,” she said. “We know what it’s like to get that far, so it makes us a little more prepared. We’ve been there, and now we expect to clinch the tournament title.”

Neidell said his team still has a few things to work on before the tournament.

“I’d like to see us improve our defensive organization, both our back four and our organization between our back four and our midfield,” he said. “Hopefully we just improve our communication and organization back there and sure things up.”

Going in to this weekend’s tournament at the University of Kentucky, the Lady Toppers have some very favorable numbers on their side.

The Lady Toppers (4-2) are 2-0 against Southeastern Conference teams in the past two seasons, defeating Mississippi in 2008 and Mississippi State in 2007.

The team is also 14-6-2 all-time against in-state schools.

But coach Jason Neidell said those numbers don’t matter when preparing for the tournament, where Western will face Kentucky (2-2-2) and Marshall (6-0).

“Every year is different,” he said. “It’s just a matter of getting out on the field and putting our best foot forward.”

He said his team isn’t worried about any opponent, regardless of who it is.

“We don’t prepare any differently,” he said. “We just focus on the things that we need to do to be successful.”

Senior defender Morgan Thomas said the team is “hungry” to prove something after Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Southeast Missouri State.

To do that, they’ll have to get past the Lady Wildcats, who have only allowed one goal all season.

Neidell said there’s a little extra incentive for his team to defeat Kentucky on Friday.

“The hope is that our team is hungry to play a team like Kentucky for bragging rights in the state,” he said. “It’s definitely a game that’s easy to get motivated for, especially since we’re playing an in-state rival like Kentucky.”

Senior defender Rachel Friedman said the intensity level is raised when facing a well-known program.

“I think we know we’re the underdog,” she said. “We’re able to come in with a better mindset, and we know we have to play our best game in order to get a result.”

But Kentucky isn’t the only quality opponent that the Lady Toppers will face this weekend.

On Sunday, Western will meet Marshall, a team that hasn’t allowed a goal all season.

“We know we’re playing two very good teams,” Neidell said. “Marshall is very stingy defensively. We’re going to have to play some of the best soccer we’ve played all season to be competitive and have a chance for success.”

Thomas said the team is trying not to look at this weekend as a tournament, but as two separate contests.

“We’re just trying to have two successful games in a row,” she said. “That’s something we haven’t done yet.”

Neidell said this weekend’s matches are very important for his team to be successful with just a week before conference play begins with a game against Florida Atlantic on Sept. 25.

“This is now preseason for conference play,” he said. “We want to get on the field and perform well and work hard because we’re getting ready for the conference race.”

Western faces Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Marshall at 11 a.m. on Sunday. Both games will be at the UK Soccer Complex in Lexington.

The Lady Toppers make a point of touching the frame of their dugout before every game for good luck, and in this weekend’s soccer matches, they needed the extra help.

Senior midfielder Kellie Walker scored with less than two minutes remaining in Sunday’s game, giving the Lady Toppers (3-0-0) a 1-0 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Walker said she made eye contact with freshman midfielder Christen Sims, who combined with freshman midfielder Sydney Sisler for the assist, and knew what she needed to do.

“I saw her get the ball and I just made a run toward the goal,” Walker said. “I just wanted it so bad.”

Both teams were quiet in the first half, with 20 minutes passing before the Lady Toppers were able to attempt a shot.
Head coach Jason Neidell said his team wasn’t getting the ball in the “danger zone” effectively.

“That’s something we have been working on and we just didn’t do it today,” he said. “But that was a great goal by Kellie. She’s always looking to get in position to score. I just wish we would have done that earlier in the game.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Libby Stout made five saves to record her second shutout of the season.

The Lady Colonels nearly scored late in the first half but Stout’s outstretched save kept the game scoreless.
Coach Neidell said he thought his team controlled the game well.

Friday’s game against Division II opponent Southern Indiana was just as eventful. The Lady Toppers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and won the game 3-2 behind a three-save performance by senior goalkeeper Leslie King.

Sims scored her first goal of the season just 90 seconds into the game. Junior midfielder Nikki Workman added a late first-half goal and Sisler scored in the second half to give the Lady Toppers a 3-0 lead against the Lady Eagles.

Neidell said he thought Western had a “comfortable lead” and substituted freshman Cheryl Onwu for King after Sisler’s score.

The Lady Eagles responded with two goals in less than five minutes to cut the deficit to one, but King returned to the game and held Southern Indiana scoreless to secure the win.

“It got a little scary,” Neidell said. “I’ll take some blame for that … But once the lead was slim again, we made sure we got Leslie in there to keep the lead.”

He said the close call was a good learning experience for his team.

“We were in a game we thought we had won, and they came back with two great goals,” he said. “That experience will be really good for us if and when we get in that situation later on in the season.”

Neidell said his team took a step in the right direction this weekend, though they still have work to do before being considered a legitimate contender.

“We can get there,” he said. “It’s just early in the season so we’re not there yet.”

The Lady Toppers will travel to Memphis to face the Tigers, ranked No. 25 in the country by Soccer America Magazine, on Sunday at 1 p.m.