Austin Peay Sports Information
Clarksville, TN – As the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in mere days, one former Austin Peay State University soccer star will compete against the best players on the planet.
Tatiana Ariza will be one of 23 names on the Colombian National Team squad making the trip to Canada, and will wear number 15.
Twenty-four countries have punched their ticket to the seventh edition of most presitigious women’s soccer event in the world, held every four years since the inaugural event in 1991, with four clubs assigned to one of six groups.
Colombia has drawn Group F, joining aforementioned Mexico, France and England. Colombia will play against each group member once, with the top two point totals advancing to the Round of 16. Each match will be televised live on FOX Sports or an affiliate.
Ariza played four years at Austin Peay, scoring 10 goals or more in each season. She finished her tenure as the all-time leading goal scorer in Lady Gov history with 54, nearly twice as many as second placed Ashley Beck on the list. The striker also holds program records in career points (132), assists (24), and shots (265). In her career for Las Cafeteras, Ariza has appeared in 35 matches and scored eight goals.
This will be the fourth World Cup appearance overall for Ariza – beginning with stints for the U17 and U20 Colombian teams – and later made the cut as a 20-year-old in 2011 on the big stage. Colombia failed to tally on the score sheet while in Germany, earning just one point to exit early.
One year later, Ariza suited up and played three matches in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, including a start against the United States, but three straight losses resulted in a premature trip home.
