Clarksville, TN – Austin Peay State University (APSU) soccer’s Renee Semaan and Claire Larose found the back of the net on a balmy Senior Day at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field en route to a shutout victory over Evansville.
Claire Larose found the back of the net for the first time in 2019 today off of an assist from Anna McPhie in the 18th minute.
Senior-captain Renee Semaan added another goal in the 56th minute when she put a header in the back of the net off of a corner-kick assist from Morgan Drawdy. Senior-keeper Mary Parker Powell kept a clean sheet on the defensive end, as the Govs shut out Evansville on Senior Day.
The APSU Governors found the back of the net on their first shot on goal of the day. In the 18th minute, Larose took a pass from McPhie in front of the net, and fired it past the Purple Ace’s keeper for her season’s first goal. Freshman Jisela Dall fired her second shot on goal of the season in the 39th minute, but was unable to beat the keeper. Gov’s keeper Mary Parker Powell made two saves in the first half to take a 1-0 lead into the break.
The second half started quickly for the Govs, who found the back of the net in the 56th minute off of a corner kick. Morgan Drawdy took the corner, and sent a ball into the box that ended up in the Evansville goal. It was originally credited as an own goal, but after a review the goal was credited to the Semaan, who beat the Purple Ace’s keeper with a header off the assist from Drawdy.
The Austin Peay State University almost scored again in the 62nd and 63rd minute, when Drawdy, Dall, and McPhie all put shots on goal, only to have them saved by the Evansville goalkeeper.
The Governors defense held tough, allowing only one shot on goal the in the second half – a long shot from just across midfield as time was expiring. Senior-keeper Mary Parker Powell made three saves to post her first shutout of 2019 and the 10th of her career, as the Governors won 2-0.
Naomi Kolarova Thoughts
Opening Remarks
“I’m delighted for the ladies to get a win today. We set some specific goals prior to the game and managed to achieve those today. Small goal – shots on goal average, score first, win air balls, and majority possession. I was really pleased to see us focus on those small goals, knowing the end result would be in our favor if we met them.”
On the Offense
“I thought we possessed pretty well, we looked better in the top third today than we have all year. We took our shots, we moved well, and we did a better job of keeping the ball.”
On the freshman Govs
“We made a couple positional changes and I think that helped. We had two freshman, Abby [Gemza] and Anna [McPhie], and I thought they played absolutely fantastic.”
Final thoughts
“Our midfield did a good shift of work for all 90 minutes and made our forwards job easier. Our backline had a good game too, all six players we rotated through stepped up.”
Next Up For APSU Soccer
The Govs will kick off Ohio Valley Conference play on Thursday, September 19th, 2019 at 7:00pm when they host SIU Edwardsville at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field. Later in the weekend, the Governors will travel to Cincinnati for a 6:00pm Saturday match against the Bearcats. For news and updates regarding Austin Peay State University soccer, follow along on Twitter (@AustinPeaySOCR).
