CLARKSVILLE – Austin Peay State University's soccer team will wrap up a season-opening, two-match road trip when the Governors make the short trip to play Lipscomb in a 1 p.m., Sunday match at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex in Nashville.

In her fourth season at the helm, head coach Naomi Kolarova's squad dropped its season opener at Western Kentucky, 2-0. With a roster that features 15 returning letterwinners and 13 newcomers – 12 of which are true freshmen – the Governors were picked to finish seventh in the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors

Sunday's match against Lipscomb will be broadcast on the Lipscomb Bison YouTube channel.

The Opposition

• All-time vs. Lipscomb: 8-5-1
• All-time vs. Lipscomb in Nashville: 4-3-0
• Last Meeting: September 4, 2016 (L, 1-3)
• Last Meeting in Nashville: September 4, 2016 (L, 1-3)

After a first-place finish in the 2020 ASUN regular season, Lipscomb was picked as co-favorites to repeat as conference champions during the 2021 season. The Bison are led by quartet of Preseason All-Conference selections that includes Cami Rogers, Kelli Beiler, Logan McFadden, and the 2020 ASUN Defensive Player of the Year Shelby Craft.

Lipscomb opened the 2021 season at home against Mississippi State and knocked off the Bulldogs, 2-1.  

Notably

• Peyton Powell made six saves – one off her career-high – in the season-opening match at Western Kentucky, including a save on a penalty kick late in the first half.
• Freshmen Lindsey McMahon and Clara Heistermann led the Governors in minutes played, going the distance in their collegiate debuts against Western Kentucky – Powell also played all 90 minutes in net.
• Graduate student Gybson Roth and fifth-year senior Claire Larose will both take advantage of an extra year of eligibility provided by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Larose enters her fifth season ranked sixth in goals (15), seventh in points (38), and eighth in assists (8) in Austin Peay history.
• Larose started all ten matches during the 2020-21 season and the season opener for the 2021 season, she has now started in 46-consecutive matches dating back to her sophomore season in 2018.
• 2020-21 OVC All-Newcomer selection Tori Case led the Govs with three assists during her freshman season. Her 0.30 assists per game last season ranks as the fifth-best single-season in program history.
• Senior Rachel Bradberry has led the Govs with three goals in each of the last two seasons, she also recorded a team-best seven points during the 2020-21 season.
• Prior to last season, Austin Peay returned a pair of goalkeepers who had yet to start a collegiate game; Peyton Powell (24 saves) and Chloé Dion (20 saves) are now the only pair of returning OVC teammates to have each recorded 20 or more saves during the 2020 season.
• Last season three of Austin Peay's then four freshmen scored their first collegiate goal in the season's first three matches, this year the Governors will have a dozen freshmen trying to best that mark.
• Freshman Hadleigh Watson and Avryn List are the first players in program history from Mississippi and Minnesota, respectively.
• Freshmen scored six points in Austin Peay's two exhibition matches with Alec Baumgardt and McMahon finding the back of the net, while Baumgardt and Haley Patterson dished out assists.
• In 2021, Austin Peay returns 81.8 percent (9-of-11) of the goals, 77.8 percent (7-of-9) of the assists, and 80.6 percent (25-of-31) of the points scored during the 2020-21 season. 

Up Next

Austin Peay will return to Morgan Bros. Soccer Field for its home opener when it plays a 7 p.m., Friday match against Kansas State. After taking on the Wildcats, the Governors will host a 4 p.m., Aug. 29, match against Miami (Ohio). The home opener, as well as all regular-season home matches this season, will be broadcast on ESPN+. For news and updates on everything Governors soccer, follow along on Twitter or Instagram (@GovsWSOC) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.