MONROE, La. --- The ULM women's soccer team drew first blood but couldn't hold off league-leading Western Kentucky, falling in an extremely physical 2-1 match at the ULM Soccer Complex on Friday afternoon.

"We knew coming into today's match that Western Kentucky was one of the top teams in the Sun Belt," ULM soccer head coach Stacy Lamb said. "We competed well with them, but strayed away from our game plan. We made two mistakes on failed clearances that cost us the match."

ULM (6-9-1, 2-4-1 Sun Belt) got off to a fast start, picking up a goal in the sixth minute of the match after freshman Samantha Cashman scored her first collegiate goal off a set piece. Junior Rachel Hobson served the ball in to Cashman for her fourth assist of the season.

WKU (12-1-1, 7-0 Sun Belt) answered the goal in the 22nd minute after a turnover deep in ULM territory. The Warhawks were unable to clear the ball, allowing Kristi Cocchiarella to pick up the game tying score.

The two teams alternated attacks in the first half, but neither was able to produce another score before the intermission.

In the 52nd minute of the match the Lady Toppers took advantage of a Warhawk mistake, scoring the game winner following a failed clearance by the ULM defense. Mallory Outerbridge took a pass from Lindsey Passaglia and beat sophomore Mallory George close for the final tally.

Junior Kendall Dawkins and freshmen Tiffany Bombard and Elena Vazquez combined for nine of ULM's 13 shots, including six of the Warhawks eight shots on frame. In the match, ULM was out shot by a 23-13 margin with the Lady Toppers holding a 13-8 advantage in shots on goal.

"I was happy with our physical effort in today's game," Lamb said. "We competed and played hard. We were aggressive, but made mental mistakes that cost us."

The Warhawks will look to get back in the win column on Sunday when they host Middle Tennessee at 1 p.m. at the ULM Soccer Complex.

ULM Notes

-Sophomore Mallory George posted her third match of 10 or more saves of the 2007 season in the effort against Western Kentucky.

-George saw her string of scoreless minutes snapped in the 22nd minute of the match. Entering Friday's action, the Centennial, Colo. native had not allowed a goal in 224:01. Her shut out minutes streak of 245:35is the fourth-longest streak in ULM history and came up just ten minutes shy of the third longest streak.

-Freshman Samantha Cashman became the fifth Warhawk to score their first collegiate goal this season, joining junior Brittany Lee, sophomore Molly Kissler and freshmen Tiffany Bombard and Elena Vazquez.

-Junior Rachel Hobson's fourth assist of the season moved the Longmont, Colo. native into a tie for third on the single season assists list at ULM. The Warhawk captain has nine career assists, tying her with Cindy Barker and teammate Amanda Wing-Strope for second on the all-time list.