Mya Jackson broke a scoreless deadlock in the 78th minute Sunday afternoon, lifting WKU women’s soccer (12-1-6) to a 1-0 victory over Kennesaw State in the Conference USA Tournament quarterfinals.
The decisive moment arrived when Jackson converted a rebound following an opportunity created by Danielle Lewin, sending the Hilltoppers into the tournament semifinals for the first time since 2020 and just the second time in program history.
The Hilltoppers controlled the pace throughout the match, accumulating 22 total shots with nine attempts finding the target. Jackson and Georgia Liapis led the attack with four shots apiece, each placing two on goal. Kennesaw State’s defense repeatedly turned away early chances, including diving stops by the Owls’ goalkeeper against both Jackson and Lewin in the opening half.
The breakthrough ultimately came late in the contest. After entering the match, Lewin worked around defenders and sent a ball toward the net that the goalkeeper managed to touch.
Jackson followed the play to collect the rebound and score her third goal of the season, extending a scoring streak to three consecutive matches. Lewin’s contribution marked her eighth assist of the season, advancing her to third place in program history for career assists.
WKU’s backline stifled the Kennesaw State offense completely, conceding zero shots in the first half and limiting the Owls to a single attempt during the entire 90 minutes. Defenders Alaina Nugier, Abby Wiedermann, and Kora Kipley played every minute of the shutout. Physical play characterized the afternoon, resulting in 27 combined fouls and a yellow card issued to Kennesaw State’s Anabel Orozco.
We created plenty of chances, and we just couldn’t find the back of the net,
WKU head coach Jason Neidell said according to WBKO. Credit to Kennesaw for their tough defending today. We stuck with the game plan and just kept at it. And our moment of magic happened. It was a great team win!
With the win, the Hilltoppers secured their 12th victory of the season, moving into sixth place on the program’s single-season victories list. WKU advances to face the winner of the matchup between MTSU and Delaware in the semifinals on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at 3 p.m. CT.
