Bowling Green, KY – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) soccer team lost its final exhibition of the preseason tonight at Western Kentucky by a score of 3-0.
The Govs hit the road to take on Western Kentucky in an exhibition that consisted of two 30 minute halves, followed by two ten minute golden goal overtime periods, regardless of the score at the end of regulation.
The Governors controlled the opening kickoff, and kept the Hilltoppers in check for the first fifteen minutes of the match. In the 16th minute Western Kentucky scored what proved to be the game winner, taking a 1-0 lead, the Hilltoppers added another goal in the 20th minute to take a 2-0 lead into halftime.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Govs made wholesale changes to the lineup, running out an almost entirely new eleven. Western Kentucky scored the final goal of the night in the 32nd minute, before the new group of Govs locked in and held the Hilltoppers scoreless for the rest of the night. However, the Govs were never able to get it going on the offensive end, and the Govs trailed 3-0 at the end of regulation.
At the end of regulation, two 10 minute golden goal overtime periods were agreed upon by both coaches, regardless of the score. The Govs defense continued to play hard and shut out Western Kentucky in both overtime periods. Unfortunately, the Govs were unable to find their rhythm on the offensive end, and the two overtime periods both went scoreless.
Naomi Kolarova Thoughts
On the first half
“Our opening ten minutes looked good, we were hungry and created chances. Then Western Kentucky found their rhythm and dominated the next 10 minutes, popping in two quick goals, and I think that hit our confidence a little bit.”
On the second half
“In the second half we made a bunch of personnel changes and the second group produced the grit and toughness we needed to step back up into the game.”
On who stepped up
“I thought a couple of players in particular had great games, Meghan Dees and Abigail Gemza in the backline, and Maeve Kelly in the midfield. It’s exciting to see different players step up, we just need to see consistency from them all.”
Looking forward
“We were not able to create any really good opportunities in front of the goal, and never looked like we could pull the score line back, we need to focus on that this week during training. We need to be a little less predictable going forward and focus on being more creative in the top third, but we are excited for next Friday.”
Next Up For APSU Soccer
The APSU Govs get things going for real when they open up the regular season with a 5:00pm Friday night match at Chattanooga. A 7:00pm August 30th match against Mercer will be the first chance for fans to catch the Govs in action at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field this season.
For news and updates on Governor soccer, be sure to follow along on Twitter (@AustinPeaySOCR) all season long.
