EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Austin Peay State University women's soccer team could not overcome SIU Edwardsville, falling in overtime, Friday.

The Govs (6-3-1, 1-1-1 OVC) started out strong, having two corner kicks inside the two minute mark and then a Jade Dauriat strike forced a good save out of SIUE keeper Jensen Schoch.

However, the Cougars (3-5, 2-1 OVC) settled into the game gradually, forcing a couple good saves from Mary Parker Powell. The Cougars controlled the majority of the first half, but the Govs defended well. SIUE had shots, but Powell only had to make one more meaningful save and the game was scoreless at the half.

The second half started out rather tame, with Caroline Wistrom having an attempt from long range, but her shot went over. After Wistrom's effort, SIUE started to pin the Govs deep in their half, but had not created any big chances.

The Govs earned a free kick right outside the center circle and Renee Semaan had a high-arching kick almost find the net, but was tipped over by Schoch. Semaan's shot set off a chain reaction of offense, with Claire Larose hitting the post from inside the box.

A couple minutes later, SIUE missed a point-blank header from six yards out. Powell came up huge on SIUE's next attack, turning a header off a long throw-in wide for a corner. SIUE then had the best two chances of the game off the ensuing corner, with another close-range header hitting the crossbar and then the rebound was blasted over.

The drama did not stop there as the Govs came right back down the field, only for Shelby Stewart to send a shot over the bar after a blistering counter-attack.

The game settled down after the dramatic period of offense before Powell made a tremendous diving save with seven minutes to go.

SIUE ended up winning the match from a corner. A ball was played in and there was a resulting skirmish right in front of the goal and the Cougars forced the ball over the line for the winner.

The Govs visit Eastern Illinois for a 1 p.m., Sunday contest to continue conference play.

Notably

• Powell set her season-high in saves with nine
• The Govs are now 6-3-3 all-time against the Cougars
• The Govs are now 1-0-1 in OT games under head coach Naomi Kolarova
• The Govs had previously had their last four OT games end in a tie
• Despite the loss, the Govs have their most points through three matches in conference play since 2016
• Kolarova made one change to the starting lineup that defeated Tennessee Tech last Sunday, the least number of changes besides an unchanged lineup against Belmont

Kolarova's Thoughts

On the match:

"We just weren't quick enough to the ball in the first half. SIUE's first step was quicker and they looked like they wanted it more. We drifted and ball watched out of possession and they took advantage of that. We were lucky to have our defense and Mary Parker tonight. MP had some tremendous saves to keep us in the game and our back line broke down a ton of SIUE's offensive momentum. We will be focused on improving speed of play and more disciplined team defending in the coming week."

On the future:

"We need to bounce back for Sunday's game. OVC games will all be close, but we need to be that team on the end of a win. To do that we've got to continue to be positive, work towards putting away our chances, limiting the opposition's chances, and simply keep on learning and improving."