CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University women's soccer team sent a statement to the rest of the Ohio Valley Conference in Friday night's matchup with defending OVC champion UT Martin. The Lady Govs controlled pace much of the evening and held on down the stretch for a 2-1 win to open conference play.

Austin Peay (6-1-1) showed no rust from the 12-day layoff between games, going on the attack early and putting the Skyhawk defense on its heels. The win over UT Martin (2-7-1) was the Lady Govs first victory in a conference opener since 2010 and gave the Lady Govs a bit of redemption from last season's heartbreaking OVC Championship loss.

“This is a huge win for us,” said head coach Kelley Guth. “Martin's a great team. We knew it would be a tough matchup, and we had a number of player's make a difference for us.”

Senior Tatiana Ariza got Austin Peay on the board first. A nice lead pass from sophomore Courtney Sheppard found Ariza's foot, and she slid it past UT Martin's Mariah Klenke for the game's first tally. The goal was her league-best seventh in 2013 and the 46th of her Austin Peay career. It also gives her 16 points through eight 2013 matches, good for seventh on the Lady Govs single-season lists. She's the first Lady Gov to post four single-season point totals that reside in the top 10 in program history.

Ariza nearly found the back of the net again in the 40th minute but Klenke turned away her attempt. Ariza and UT Martin's Alyssa Curtis each put up match-highs in shots (three) and shots on goal (two).

The Lady Govs made it 2-0 in the 63rd minute off a corner kick. A booming volley from junior Claire Pultz found junior Frankie Carbajal on the left side of the box, and she put away the goal to give Austin Peay a two-score advantage. The score was the first of Carbajal's Austin Peay career.

“We really worked together well today,” Carbajal said. “We had worked on corners all week for game's like this and I knew I had to pick it up if the ball got to the back.”

Down by two goals, the Skyhawk offense went on the attack. Senior Haylee Shoaff, who subbed in for sophomore Nikki Filippone in the second half, made two saves before allowing an 82nd-minute goal to the Skyhawk's Ellie Myrick. Hannah McGowen's cross into the box was collected by Myrick and fired past a diving Shoaff to cut the deficit in half.

Amy Maksimowicz put another challenge on net in the 84th minute but the Skyhawks comeback bid fell short. Austin Peay secured its first win against UT Martin since 2006, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Skyhawks.

Filippone was credited with the victory, making one save in 45 first-half minutes. Klenke made three saves in defeat for UT Martin.

Austin Peay goes for a sweep to open the conference schedule when Southeast Missouri comes to Clarksville for a 2 p.m., Sunday, match at Morgan Brothers Field.