APSU hosts Eastern Illinois, Friday

Kickoff of Friday’s APSU match against EIU moved to noon

Clarksville, TN – Entering the final weekend of the regular season, Austin Peay State University (APSU) soccer controls its own destiny in the Ohio Valley Conference Championship race, with a two-point advantage over the teams in a three-way tie for the final spot in the tournament.

Opponents

Eastern Illinois

APSU vs. Panthers All-Time: 6-9-2

Last Meeting: September 23, 2018 (L, 0-1)

Record in Clarksville: 5-2-2

Last Meeting in Clarksville: September 24th, 2017 (W, 2-0)

A season ago, the Governors made the trip to Charleston, Illinois, where they lost to the Panthers, 1-0. The Govs got off 11 shots, including a team-high five from Claire Larose, but were never able to best the Panther keeper. 

Belmont

APSU vs. Bruins All-Time: 6-4-3

Last Meeting: September 14, 2018 (T/2OT, 1-1)

Record in Nashville: 2-3-1

Last Meeting in Nashville: September 17th, 2017 (L, 2-3)

The Governors fell behind early at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field last season, with Belmont scoring in the 23rd minute. In the 61st minute, Larose scored off an Amber Bateman assist to tie the match at one. Larose, Morgan Drawdy, and Renee Semaan all fired shots on goal, but could never find the back of the net. Mary Parker Powell made five saves, and after two overtimes, the match ended in a draw, 1-1.

Eastern Illinois comes into the weekend having tied with Tennessee Tech, 1-1, in their only match last week. Belmont will host Murray State on Friday, after tying with SIU Edwardsville, 3-3, and Eastern Kentucky, 0-0, last weekend.

Last week, Larose posted a four-point performance on Friday, scoring once and assisting on two more goals as the Governors knocked off Morehead State, 3-0. On Sunday, the Govs scored first, but were unable to hold on as Murray State took the match in double overtime.

The Governors offense will continue to run through Larose, who is tied for second in the OVC with five assists, and leads the team with 11 points. Rachel Bradberry and Anna McPhie are tied for second on the team with six points each; Bradberry has scored three goals and McPhie has scored twice and dished out two assists.  

On the defensive end, Mary Parker Powell comes off a solid week in goal. Powell shut out Morehead State for the first 79 minutes, before giving way to freshman Chloé Dion once the match was in hand. On Sunday, Powell hauled in a season-high 11 saves, which was the second-highest single game total of her career.

Kickoff of Friday’s match against Eastern Illinois has been moved to noon due to impending heavy rain in the forecast for Friday night. Sunday’s match against Belmont will be streamed live on ESPN+ for fans to enjoy, if you do not have ESPN+, as always you can follow along on Twitter (@AustinPeaySOCR).