Clarksville, TN – The Austin Peay State University (APSU) soccer team is in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championship for the first time in program history.
The Governors (5-10-4, 3-5-3) enter their inaugural ASUN Women’s Soccer Championship as the No. 7 seed and prepare for a Thursday 4:00pm CT match against No. 7 Kennesaw State (4-8-6, 3-5-3 ASUN) at Pickering Field at the FGCU Soccer Complex in Fort Myers, Florida.
The Govs and Owls played to a scoreless draw against the Owls on October 12th in Clarksville. Junior goalkeeper Katie Bahn earned a nine-save shutout in the affair, while Alec Baumgardt and Aniyah Mack tied for a team-best three shots.
Mack led the Gov and finished tied for the seventh-most goals in the ASUN with five during her freshman season, while her two game-winning scores were the sixth-most in the league. Mack’s quintuplet of scores also was the most by an APSU Govs since Claire Larose in 2018 and the most by a freshman since McKenzie Dixon netted nine in 2015.
Defensively, the Govs have been led by Bahn, who posted 97 saves in her 19 starts, best for fifth in program history.
The APSU Govs’ defensive line also has been led by junior center back Lindsey McMahon, who joins Bahn as the only Govs to start all 19 matches this season. She has played a team and career-best 1693 minutes, while logging 90 minutes in 17 of her 19 appearances while helping the Govs post four shutouts in 2023.
Since playing to a scoreless draw against the Govs in Clarksville two weeks ago, the Owls split their final two regular season matches, dropping a 1-0 decision to Lipscomb and defeating Queens 3-1 in their most recent outing.
Kennesaw State has had eight players find the back of the net in 2023, with Aila Swinton, Rianna Rivera, and Agata Giani all tallying a pair of scores.
Allanah Blye started the first 16 matches of the regular season with a .708 save percentage with 51 saves; however, Charlee Bernal earned the last two starts and posted 15 saves on 50 shots faced in 265 minutes between the pipes.
About the Kennesaw State Owls
Their Gaffer: Benji Walton is in his eighth season with the Owls where he has posted a 69-61-19 record. He owns a 166-139-30 all-time record, and was preiosuly the head coach at Birmingham Southern and Limestone.
2023 Record: 4-8-6 (3-5-3 ASUN)
Their 2023 Season So Far: The Owls finished nonconference 1-3-3, with a win against Presbyterian and draws coming against East Tennessee, Georgia State, and Florida. They finished the regular season going 3-1-2 and earning the No. 6 seed in the postseason
2022 Record: 7-9-3 (5-3-2 ASUN)
2022 Season Result: Kennesaw State entered the 2022 ASUN Conference Tournament as the No. 4 seed, but their season ended following a 1-0 loss to Eastern Kentucky in the tournament’s first round.
All-Time Series: 1-1-1 | 0-1 at neutral sites (2014 in Murfreesboro)
Last Meeting: Katie Bahn tallied the second-most saves of her career with nine during a scoreless shutout against Kennesaw State on October 12th, in Clarksville.
About Austin Peay Soccer
Our Gaffer: Kim McGowan is in her second year as the Governors’ head coach, where she has posted an 8-19-10 record. Prior to serving as the associate head coach at Miami (OH), McGowan was the head coach at Thomas Moore, where she went 15-5-1 in her lone season with the program. McGowan’s first head coaching job was at Olivet, where she went 19-16-4 in two seasons.
2023 Record: 5-10-4 (3-5-3 ASUN)
Our 2023 Season So Far: The Governors enter the postseason at the No. 7 seed after finishing with 12 points in the league standings. They went 3-5-3 in ASUN action after going 2-5-1 during nonconference play. Austin Peay State Univeristy picked up a point in three of their final four games of the regular season, going 0-1-3, with their lone loss being against the No. 1 seed and Regular-Season Champion in Lipscomb in the regular-season finale. Prior to their loss against the Bisons, APSU played to three-straight draws against Stetson (0-0), Kennesaw State (0-0) and Queens (1-1).
2022 Record: 3-9-6 (1-6-3)
2022 Season Result: Austin Peay State University missed the postseason last year after finishing with four points in the league standings.
Offensive Weapons: Austin Peay State University had nine players tally a goal during the regular season and was led by freshman Aniyah Mack’s five goals, including two during league play. Alec Baumgardt, Allie Dreas, and Kasidy Schenk also tallied multiple goals, with two apiece.
Bahn’s A Keeper: Junior goalkeeper Katie Bahn garners a .752 save percentage and has allowed 1.75 goals per game. She has tallied 97 saves, including 63 in conference play.
