APSU Sports Information
Macon, GA – Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s soccer team rebounded from two straight losses to defeat Mercer, 1-0, Friday, at Betts Stadium.
The 1-0 scoreline was very misleading as the two teams combined for 34 shots, the most involving the Govs (4-2) this season.
The Govs enjoyed some early success, as Caroline Wistrom and Renee Semaan each had shots in the game’s opening ten minutes.
The Bears (3-3-1) eventually gained more control of the match and had the better share of opportunities for the next 20 minutes, but Mary Parker Powell made a couple of saves to thwart Mercer.
The Govs had a flurry of shots in the last few minutes of the half, with Wistrom and Rachel Bradberry having shots saved and Gybson Roth having a goal-bound shot blocked.
Mercer had the first attempt of the second half, but Powell was up to the task again, making another save, as she finished with a season-high seven.
Powell made two more saves before the hour mark as it looked like the Bears were going to press for the opening goal, but McKenzie Dixon had something to say about that. Dixon found the net in the 63rd minute off an assist from Jade Dauriat, a goal that proved to be the winner.
The Govs almost grabbed a second just a couple minutes later, with Jennifer Smith having a shot blocked from another Dauriat delivery.
With about ten minutes left, Mercer really started to press for an equalizer, but the Govs kept holding strong defensively. The Bears had seven shots over the final ten minutes, with four of them either blocked by a Gov defender or saved by Powell.
Junior defender Meghan Dees came up huge for the Govs as she cleared two shots off the line. After a yellow card on Mercer, the Govs were able to run out the clock to earn a huge road victory.
APSU Notably
Head Coach Naomi Kolarova has used a different starting lineup in every match this season
Mary Parker Powell earned her third shutout of the season
Powell had seven saves on the night, a season-high
McKenzie Dixon scored her 15th career goal tonight, tied for fifth all-time with Andy Quiceno
Dixon is now one of two players to have scored more than one goal this season (Claire Larose)
The Govs are now 1-0 against the Bears after tonight’s first-ever match between the two programs
Ashley Whittaker made her first start of the season
Jade Dauriat recorded her second career assist on Dixon’s goal
Naomi Kolarova’s Thoughts
On the match overall:
“It was a fast and frantic game tonight, in both ways. They attacked in numbers, but we defended strongly. Mary Parker came up with two or three top-class saves and Meghan Dees cleared two balls off the line for us to keep the clean sheet. The defensive fight from our team, especially in the box, was fantastic.”
On her team:
“We are maintaining a high level of intensity and the ladies are making the right adjustments in the second half to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses. We are finally playing for 90 minutes and it is exciting to watch.”
The Govs return to action, 1:00pm, Sunday, with a home match against Chattanooga. The game is free to attend and will be broadcast on the OVC Digital Network.
