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HomeSportsAPSU Soccer hosts Murray State, travels to UT Martin this weekend

APSU Soccer hosts Murray State, travels to UT Martin this weekend

APSU Sports Information

APSU Soccer - Austin Peay State UniversityClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s soccer team faces the top two teams in the Ohio Valley Conference this weekend in Murray State (home, 7:00pm, Friday, October 12th) and UT Martin (away, 2:00pm, Sunday, October 14th), as the Govs try and cement a place in the OVC Tournament.

The Govs (8-5-1, 3-3-1 OVC) host the Racers (8-3-1, 4-2 OVC) in a pivotal match in the OVC standings, with heavy implications in play.

Austin Peay Women's Soccer play two critcal OVC matches this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Women’s Soccer play two critcal OVC matches this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)

If that’s not enough, the two schools play the latest installment of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border.

Since its implement in the 2016-17 school year, the Racers have won both editions, but the Govs’ volleyball team claimed the first points of this year’s competition, giving APSU an early lead. The winner of the match will contribute three points to their school’s total.

The Govs are coming off a weekend with ups-and-downs, as they routed Eastern Kentucky 3-0 to extend their program-record unbeaten streaks at home. However, the Govs squandered a chance to rise atop the OVC standings, as they fell 1-0 to Morehead State in a frustrating match.

The OVC is starting to tighten up, with just five points separating second to eighth place. This weekend is especially critical, since two teams below them (Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee Tech) are within three points and have a game in-hand on the Govs.

Opponent Spotlight

The final regular season home game is potentially the biggest one, as the Govs take on that team from Kentucky. The Racers are coming off a loss to UT Martin, a game which was for the outright lead in the OVC Standings. If the Govs want to come away with the three points, most of the focus will have to be on stopping Murray’s dynamic duo of Miyah Watford and Abby Jones.

Watford leads the conference with eight goals and has five assists as well, which are good for second in the conference. Watford’s five assists are only second to her teammate, as Jones as six assists and has tacked on an impressive six goals as well, which ranks third in the OVC behind Watford and the Govs’ own Claire Larose.

Watford and Jones have accounted for over half of the team’s goals this season. The Govs have not beaten the Racers since the 2011 season and are only 4-12-2 overall against them all-time.

The Govs also travel to Martin to take on the offensive juggernaut that are the Skyhawks (10-2-1, 5-0-1 OVC). The Skyhawks are the only unbeaten team left in the OVC and blitzed Murray and Jacksonville State last weekend by a combined score of 7-2.

UT Martin will also travel to Belmont before welcoming the Govs on Sunday. The Skyhawks are currently on an eight-match unbeaten streak and have six players with at least three goals this season. Amy McGivern leads the team with six goals, with five of them coming in conference matches, ranking first.

UT Martin leads in basically every statistical team category, meaning the Govs must put together a complete performance to come up with a result. Despite the 5-10-2 record all-time against UT Martin, the Govs are unbeaten in the last three matches between the two schools.

The match against Murray State will be free to attend and will be streamed on the OVC Digital Network. The match will also have live stats. The road match against UT Martin will only have live stats, so fans can also follow @AustinPeaySOCR to keep up with match updates.

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