CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University women's soccer team lost a valuable test at Ohio Valley Conference leader Tennessee Tech, 2-0, Sunday.

The Lady Govs are now winless in the last ten matches, including three scoreless ties. It also marked the fourth consecutive match without a goal scored. Austin Peay now has three OVC matches remaining – including home matches against Murray State and Tennessee Martin, along with a rescheduled match at Jacksonville State.

Austin Peay outshot Tennessee Tech, 8-7, in the loss, marking the first time in more than a month for the Lady Govs to out-shoot their opponent. The Golden Eagles got on the board after corner kick by Sarah Gawthrop set the offense. Kris Cameron and Jen Hoffman both assisted on Keri Reid's goal in the 16th minute. That 1-0 lead stood through the break, as the Lady Govs managed only two shots – both on goal – in the first half.

In the second stanza, Austin Peay came out firing, but could not capitalize on their scoring opportunities. The defense held strong until a foul in the 70th minute gave Tennessee Tech a free kick. Andrea Meloff deposited the rebound into the back of the net in the 71st minute to provide the game's insurance.

“Our team has learned to show up and play,” head coach Kelley Guth said. “We are definitely capable of being competitive with every team in our conference, but the team needs to learn to piece things together out there. We have struggled all season with player-availability due to injuries so it has been difficult to establish a rhythm. However, we still have to go out there and find a way to get the result. We were prepared today, we just needed to execute.”

Freshman Danielle Roos led Austin Peay with two shots, both on goal, while freshman Ginae Starkey also added two shots. Junior keeper Carley Newman made three saves in net.

Kaitlyn Thacker made five saves for Tennessee Tech, including three in the second half.


-AP-