Clarksville, TN – Sunday’s 1:00pm regular-season finale at archrival Murray State could determine Austin Peay State University women’s soccer team’s seeding in next week’s Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
While the Lady Govs were idle Friday, Eastern Kentucky’s loss to Morehead State punched APSU’s ticket to the 2013 Tournament, which will be hosted by regular season champion UT Martin.
In the event of a tie between the two and a Lady Govs victory, Austin Peay would vault ahead of both squads for the No. 4 spot in the field. An Austin Peay loss guarantees the Lady Govs the No. 6 seed.
In their last outing, the Lady Govs bounced back with a huge win at Jacksonville State last week, erasing a three-match losing streak with a 3-0 victory. Senior Andy Quiceno had a hand in all three goals, assisting on the first two before scoring one of her own in the 72nd minute. Sophomore netminder Nikki Filippone made four saves for her season’s third shutout.
Murray State has been away from the field since October 25th, when the Racers snapped a four-match losing streak in a 1-0 victory against Jacksonville State. Despite a 3-0-1 start to the campaign, the Racers have been unable to sustain any momentum during OVC play. Junior midfielder Julie Mooney has been a bright spot for Murray State, leading the conference with six assists and ranking third in points with 20.
Last Time Against This Weekend’s Opponent
In a low-scoring defensive struggle to open the 2012 OVC schedule, Austin Peay dropped a 1-0 decision to Murray State at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field, September 23rd. The Racers were outshot, 12-3, but escaped with a 1-0 win thanks to Veronika Pryibyslavska scored a 70th-minute goal that proved the difference.
The loss was one of only two the Lady Govs suffered in OVC play last season.
Keep An Eye On
Senior Tatiana Ariza needs two goals to tie her own single-season school-record with 16, set during the 2011 campaign. Ariza, senior Andy Quiceno and sophomore Courtney Sheppard each have four assists; each needs one more to tie for sixth in APSU single-season history.
Two goals from the Lady Govs offense, Sunday would give Austin Peay 38 for the season, which would be the second-highest mark in Austin Peay history.
One more goal would give freshman Gina Fabbro sole possession of fifth on the single-season lists with eight. She remains four behind Ariza’s 2010 tally for most in a single season by a freshman.
The Lady Govs are on pace for an historically low number of saves. With one regular season games remaining, Austin Peay has 50 total saves, led by Nikki Filippone with 36. The mark for fewest number of saves Austin Peay has recorded in a season currently stands at 73, set by the 2011 squad.
Filippone currently has the second-best goals-against average mark in Austin Peay single-season history; she stands at 0.67 entering play Sunday, behind only Carley Newman’s 0.57 2010 mark.
With one more assist, senior Natalia Ariza would pass Adonia Bivins (2003-06) for third all-time with 13 assists.
Despite winning two of the last three matches, and losing only once since 2010, Austin Peay trails the all-time series against the Racers, 4-8-1. The Lady Govs lost five straight from the 2005 OVC Tournament to 2009.
Senior midfielder Morgan Zigelsky needs one assist to tie Erin Mitchell (2002-04) for fifth on the career charts with nine. With one point, she would tie Bivins for 10th all-time with 22.
Lady Govs Online
Be sure to follow all the Lady Govs action at LetsGoPeay.com, and check them out on Twitter (@AustinPeaySocr) and by liking the Austin Peay Women’s Soccer Official Page on Facebook. Live stats will be available prior to the match at www.LetsGoPeay.com.
