Austin Peay Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University women’s soccer team opened the regular season, Friday, losing 3-4 to UAB in a double overtime thriller at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
For the first time since October 19th, 2014, Austin Peay went into two sudden death overtime periods.
The Lady Govs (0-1-0) went with a different look in their starting lineup, moving senior Shelby Olszewski from a defensive position to the lead attacker. On her left side, junior Nicole Wojcik was positioned, and the duo found a rhythm beginning in the first half.
In the 13th minute, corner kick specialist, Wojcik, sent a looping cross into the box, where Olszewski connected with a header in traffic for the first goal of the evening. One minute later, the pair charged forward once more, this time with Olszewski slipping a low cross to the feet of Wojcik for an easy finish.
UAB came back strong as the second half whistle blew, with Marin Carter scoring a goal within the first 58 seconds after finding an opening on a solo run. In the 54th minute, Jessica Do took a deflected ball in the box, and maintained control before sending it through to make it 2-2.
After the Lady Govs pressed forward, Wojcik received another corner opportunity in the 69th minute. The junior sent in a low cross towards the far post, and with a wall of APSU players shielding the opposition, the ball maneuvered its way through traffic for a rare unassisted goal off a corner kick. Wojcik becomes the first Lady Gov to record two goals and an assist in a single game since Tatiana Ariza on October 4th, 2013.
As Austin Peay tried to maintain possession with a 3-2 advantage, the Blazers were aggressive in trying to create turnovers. UAB finished with 22 fouls in the contest, along with three yellow cards, while the Lady Govs received two cards.
In the 80th minute, Johnson dribbled down the right side of the pitch, and found a crease for the game-tying goal to send it into overtime.
Johnson attempted a game-high five shots, while Olszewski led APSU in shots with four on the night.
Sophomore Lindsey Todd played the full 105 minutes for Austin Peay, and was given the loss despite making seven saves on 17 UAB shots. Kelsey Daugherty earned the win for the Blazers after making three saves.
Austin Peay continues its opening weekend slate as they travel to Chattanooga, Sunday, to face the Mocs at 1:00pm.
