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HomeSportsAustin Peay State University Women's Soccer takes on Murray State, UT Martin

Austin Peay State University Women’s Soccer takes on Murray State, UT Martin

APSU Sports Information

Austin Peay State University Lady Govs - APSUClarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s soccer team splits time at home and on the road this weekend, hosting archrival Murray State (7:00pm, Friday) before traveling to UT Martin (2:00pm, Sunday) to close out the weekend.

Austin Peay Lady Govs Soccer plays Murray State, UT Martin this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)
Austin Peay Lady Govs Soccer plays Murray State, UT Martin this weekend. (APSU Sports Information)

On the outside looking in with three matches to go in the regular season, Austin Peay finds itself in dire need of points this weekend.

Though just a point behind Morehead State for the final spot in the six-team field for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, the Lady Govs can’t rely on equaling the Eagles – partly because Morehead State owns the tiebreaker thanks to their 2-1 win against the Lady Govs, September 28th, and partly because Morehead State faces Eastern Illinois and Eastern Kentucky, respectively ninth and 10th in the OVC standings, to close out the regular season.

APSU's Gina FabbroAustin Peay’s scoreless draw on Senior Day showed a solid defensive bounce-back after last Friday’s 5-0 loss to Jacksonville State.

The offense, currently averaging less than a goal per game on the season, features only two multi-goal scorers – sophomores Gina Fabbro, who leads the team with five goals, and Merritt Monger, who scored both her goals in the home opener against Chattanooga, August 24th.

Picked to finish ninth in the OVC preseason poll, Murray State (9-7-0, 5-2-0 OVC) is battling for a bye in the OVC Tournament, with the same record as Jacksonville State and Southeast Missouri.

APSU's Merritt MongerThe Racers are paced offensively by senior Julie Mooney’s 12-goal, three-assist campaign that has her tied for second in the OVC with 27 points.

The defending regular-season champions, UT Martin (10-5-1, 4-2-1 OVC) remains one of the most dangerous attacking units in the OVC.

Rianna Jarrett is tied with Mooney for second in the conference at 27 points and senior keeper Mariah Klenke handles things with aplomb on the other end, leading the OVC with a .865 save percentage.

Last Time Against This Weekend’s Opponents

Austin Peay took down UT Martin for the first time since 2006 with a 2-1 win thanks to goals from Tatiana Ariza and Frankie Carbajal – the former would earn Tennessee Sports Writers Association Player of the Week honors, while the latter would be named to CollegeSoccer360.com’s National Team of the Week.

If the win against UT Martin in 2013 was the highest of highs, the Lady Govs loss at Murray State was the lowest of lows. On the regular season’s final day, they gave up two goals to the Racers and never recovered, falling 2-1 and dropping to the No. 6 seed in the tournament despite a sterling 10-save effort from junior Nikki Filippone.

All-time, the Lady Govs are 4-9-1 against Murray State, having dropped two straight to the Racers. The Lady Govs are 3-9-1 against UT Martin, going 1-6-1 in the last eight meetings.

Keep An Eye On

  • Fabbro has scored four goals in seven OVC contests (tied for fourth in the OVC during league play) and five overall in 2014. With two more goals, she will tie Jessica Hosse (2004-07) and Emily Perkins (2011-12) for fourth all-time with 14 career goals, and two more goals this season will give her seven, tied for sixth-best in a single-season in APSU history.
  • With three more saves, Filippone will move into a tie for ninth on the single-season saves list with Brooke Abrahams (2006) at 70.
  • Both junior Courtney Sheppard and senior Claire Pultz need two assists to break into the top-10 all-time. Pultz’s next assist will tie her with a multitude of Lady Govs for ninth on the single-season lists with four helpers.

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’s Official Athletics Facebook page.

Live stats will be available during the match at www.LetsGoPeay.com , while a live stream of the match will be available on the OVC Digital Network. Postgame video from most home and select road events can be found at www.youtube.com/CultureofExcellence

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