Clarksville, TN – After each team found the back of the net once in regulation, the Austin Peay State University (APSU) women’s soccer picked up its second-straight home overtime win when Rachel Bradberry collected a loose ball off a free kick and ripped a shot past the Eastern Kentucky goalkeeper from the top of the box to secure a 2-1 victory for the Governors, Friday, at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
Austin Peay (2-4) fired the opening salvo when Bradberry chipped a Tori Case long ball to Claire Larose, who found herself in a one-on-one opportunity with Eastern Kentucky (1-4) goalkeeper Billie Clark. Larose beat Clark to the far corner of the net for her season’s first goal and the Govs held a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute.
The rest of the first half went by without many looks on goal for either squad, each keeper made just a pair of saves in the first half, but it was Peyton Powell who keep a clean sheet in the first 45 minutes and the Governors led 1-0 at the break.
The offensive urgency picked up for both teams in the second half, as Powell would go on to make four saves in the second 45 minutes of the contest. But in the 68th minute of the contest, Eastern Kentucky; Michaela Iacono sent a corner kick into the box and Mackenzie Burdick beat Powell with a header to tie the match at one.
Immediately following the tally by the Colonels, Tori Case and Ashley Whittaker both put shots on target for Austin Peay, but neither was able to best Clark. The best scoring opportunity for either quad in the second half came in the 90th minute when Eastern Kentucky’s Ali Kirk found herself in a wide-open one-on-one opportunity with Powell, but Kirk sent a shot just high over the crossbar and the Govs were able to hold on and force overtime.
After neither table was able to muster a shot in the first nine minutes of overtime, the APSU Govs drew a foul just on the Eastern Kentucky side of midfield. Case sent a ball into the box on the free-kick, where it was headed by an Eastern Kentucky player before Bradberry connected with a strong right foot to beat Clark to the top-right corner of the net for the game-winning goal.
Quotably, APSU Coach Naomi Kolarova
On her team’s fight
“I am delighted we got another overtime win; it shows this team’s resilience to keep working and hang in for the entirety of these tight OVC matches. Every minute matters, we have talked about playing 90 minutes, or more, and not ever giving up on a game, and the players are totally on board. Even in games that have not gone our way, we battle the entire time. It speaks tremendously to their focus and attitude this season, they are all sacrificing something and are willing to work tirelessly for each other. I am very proud of their effort and work rate.”
On today’s match
“We came into the game today with a different game plan than the past few. We knew Eastern Kentucky would play the 3-5-2 system with fast forwards and direct play, so we wanted to counter that with higher pressure on their backline and our own direct style of play. It worked because we created more opportunities than we normally have had in OVC games this season. We had a number of shots that we absolutely need to put away, and we’ve had those opportunities most games, but I am glad that we were fortunate to put a couple of them away and snag a good win.”
Next Up For APSU Soccer
The Austin Peay State University soccer team will make the quick trip down I-24 for a 6:30pm, Tuesday match against Belmont in Nashville. The Governors will then return to Morgan Brothers Soccer Field for their final two home games of the season when they play a 2:00pm, March 26th match against Eastern Illinois and a 2:00pm, March 3rd match against UT Martin.
In the time of COVID-19 Coronavirus, there is always a chance that a match will be postponed or not come to fruition. For news, scheduling changes, and match-time updates, be sure to check back at LetsGoPeay.com or follow the APSU Governors soccer Twitter account (@AustinPeaySOCR).
