As you've likely heard, we don't have any live-action contests to cover at LetsGoPeay.com right now. What we do have is free time; oodles and oodles of free time. Enough free time to swap oodles of emails with various people who would know to create a snapshot of the best athletes in Austin Peay soccer history. At the midway point in our countdown, we feature one of the first great goal scorers in program history.

When Ashley Beck finished her four-year career at Austin Peay in 2008, she was the all-time leader in goals and points… by a wide margin. Beck then had 16 more goals and 32 more points than anyone else in program history. She was the first in program history to score double-digit goals or post 20 points in a single season; and while others have since joined her in these accomplishments, she was the first and there is something to say for that.

It didn't take long for Beck to find the back of the net for her career's first goal, as she scored on her first ever shot attempt in the 3^rd minute against Belmont, in the second match of her career. Beck's first goal proved to be the winner, and was the first of her team-leading three game winning goals in her freshman campaign. Beck would go on to score seven goals in total during the 2005 season, earning Second-Team All-Ohio Valley Conference and OVC All-Newcomer honors.

In her sophomore season, Beck was the catalyst for the Governors offense from day number one, scoring a goal and dishing out her first career assist against Chattanooga in the season opener. Beck would go on to lead the Govs with seven goals and a career-high three assists in 2006. Her 17 points on the season ranked third in the conference and she would go on to pick up her second-straight Second-Team All-OVC selection.  

Beck's 2007 season was transcendent, as she became the first Governor to score 10 goals and 20 points in a single season. After scoring a goal in the season opener against Evansville, Beck was off to the races, scoring a goal in four-straight matches two separate times in her junior campaign. Beck finished the season with 12 goals and 26 points, then program records that now rank as the third and sixth best single-season marks in program history, respectively.

As a senior in 2008, Beck led the Governors in goals for the fourth-consecutive season, becoming the first of two to ever accomplish this feat. Beck scored four goals in her final season, with the last coming in her final game as a Gov on the road at Belmont in the season finale.

Now, 12 years since Beck last took the pitch for Austin Peay, her career has stood the test of time; as she still ranks second all-time in goals (30) and third in points (65) and game winning goals (16). Beck is no longer the record holder in these statistics, but she was the first to take them to new heights and she set the standard for the future of a young Austin Peay soccer program.