COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A collected attacking front for Austin Peay started off the scoring in Sunday afternoon’s game as the Govs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of play.
APSU defender Samantha Northrup crashed the goal on a corner kick to put herself in a position to volley a header by Laurena Robinson over freshman keeper Becca Toler’s head, putting the Govs on the board first.
Austin Peay continued to pressure Tech throughout the duration of the game, putting up 12 shots to TTU’s six, led by Tatiana Ariza with five shots.
The Golden Eagles responded in the second half however, as Kerri Reid notched her first goal of the season from 20 yards out to tie the game in the 71st minute. Reid’s shot was one of two that fell on net for Tech.
With second half momentum seemingly split between the two teams and the foul count climbing – both teams ended the game with 11 fouls apiece – the Govs got their game-winner off of a direct kick by Natalia Ariza on a handball call a few yards outside of the box. Toler got a hand on the ball but it wasn’t enough to keep it out of the net, and the Govs took the 2-1 lead in the 84th minute of the game.
The win for the Govs holds the Golden Eagles out of post-season play, as Tech was one win out of a potential spot in the playoff bracket.
Toler recorded six saves in her 90 minutes, while Peay keeper Carley Newman earned one save.
“Obviously we would have preferred to end our season on a different note,” said head coach Daniel Brizard. “We wanted to make another run at the tournament title of course, but overall it would have been nice to end on a win.”
Sunday’s game marked the final game for six Golden Eagle seniors, listed below, who were recognized with their families prior to the start of the game by Brizard and Tech Director of Athletics Mark Wilson.
No. 3 – Taren Brown
No. 5 – Michelle Decker
No. 10 – Jen Hoffman
No. 13 – Brooke Mayo
No. 16 – Ashley Smith
No. 25 – Kathryn Lally
