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. The penultimate entry features an Olympian who was half of the most dynamic duo the Ohio Valley Conference has ever seen.
Sometimes the greatness of one's career cannot be seen by looking at the record book, but it can be seen by looking at the wins and losses. That is the case for Natalia Ariza. During her four years at Austin Peay, the native of Bogota, Colombia, led the Governors to a record of 47-28-5 (.619%) and a pair of Ohio Valley Conference Championship match appearances. The Govs averaged 11.75 wins during Ariza's career, which is the best four-year stretch in program history.
Ariza missed the first two games of her freshman season; she was busy representing her country in the U19 FIFA Women's World Cup. When she did arrive in Clarksville, she made an immediate impact, scoring her career's first goal in the 17th minute of her first start against Chattanooga. Ariza would go on to be the Govs second-leading scorer with 15 points, scoring a career-best six goals and adding three assists en route to a First-Team All-OVC selection.
After an opening-round win over Murray State in the 2010 OVC Tournament, Ariza sparked the Govs offense in the semifinals, scoring a brace against Southeast Missouri to lead the way to the championship. The Governors would fall to Morehead State in the championship match, but Ariza was rewarded with an OVC All-Tournament selection.
The 2011 season saw Ariza get off to an even hotter start than the year before, scoring a goal and dishing out a pair of assists in the season opener against Alabama A&M. When injuries depleted the Govs defensive unit, Ariza made the move to the back line and still managed to finish the season with five goals and a career-best four assists. Ariza's versatility helped her to earn Second-Team All-OVC honors in her sophomore campaign.
Before her junior season, Ariza and her identical-twin sister Tatiana, spent the summer playing for the Colombian National Team at the 2012 London Olympics. Upon returning to the Govs, Ariza took on a more defensive role for the 2012 season. With Ariza leading the defensive unit, the 2012 squad posted the second-best goals-against average in program history, allowing just 0.89 goals per contest.
Ariza was able to add three assits from the back line in her junior season, which led her to another First-Team All-OVC selection. In the OVC Tournament, Ariza helped led the Governors to their second championship appearance in three years. The Govs came up just short against UT Martin in the championship match, but Ariza received OVC All-Tournament honors once again.
In 2013, Ariza once again led a tough Governors defense unit, which allowed 18 goals in 17 regular-season matches. In the OVC Tournament, Ariza assisted on lone goal in the Governors 1-0 first-round win against Southeast Missouri. In the semifinal match against UT Martin, Ariza matched her career best with her season's fourth assist, but the Governors came up just short against Morehead State.
Ariza earned her fourth all-conference and third First-Team All-OVC selection in her senior season. Ariza is one of two players in Austin Peay history to receive four all-conference honors in their career, the other is her twin sister Tatiana.
