EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Austin Peay State University women's soccer team closed regular-season play with a  2-1 win at future Ohio Valley Conference member SIU Edwardsville, Sunday.

"Considering the circumstances," head coach Kelley Guth said, "with the number of players we had out today, this is a really good win for us. We had a chance to get some players on the field and give them some experience today. They did really well and that's a great sign. Going into the tournament, we are counting on some players stepping up."

The Lady Govs (13-5-1) took a 2-0 lead into halftime, but allowed an 89th minute goal to the Cougars to set the final margin. With SIUE (8-7-1) making the move into OVC play for the 2011 season, they used the 2010 season to surprise a number of OVC teams, earning wins against Eastern Kentucky, Murray State and Eastern Illinois along the way.

"They've had a very good year and are going to be great competition coming into the conference," Guth said. "This is a big win on the road and it gives us some added confidence going into the tournament."

Guth used the game as an opportunity to rest some injured Lady Govs, as well as emphasize attacking and defending set pieces. That focus led to the game's first goal, when freshman Tatiana Ariza scored off a corner kick from freshman Emily Kink.

"We moved Emily to the back today," Guth said. "She played 90 minutes at outside back and did very well. For her as a freshman to make that move, she really stepped up and was solid all day. Joceline and Natalia played excellent in the midfield for us today also."

The second goal came after an SIUE foul inside the box, following a shot by freshman Joceline Quiceno. Freshman Natalia Ariza stepped up to score the penalty kick, marking her second-straight game with a goal.

"The biggest thing in this game was for us to make sure we were attacking out of the midfield and making them defend," Guth said. "We wanted to do a better job of reading defenders and finding the final pass for execution. We did a better job of that today."

SIU Edwardsville got on the board in the game's closing seconds. Chelsey Johnston, who entered the game as a substitution less than a minute earlier, scored off Ashley Davidson's corner kick.

Austin Peay returns to action when the 2010 OVC Championship kicks off at Morehead State, Thursday. The Lady Govs play the nightcap, an 8 p.m. match, against Murray State. The winner will advance to play Southeast Missouri, Friday.

- AP -