CLARKSVILLE – Looking to extend its four-match unbeaten streak, Austin Peay State University's soccer team returns home to host a 6 p.m., Thursday match against North Dakota before kicking off Ohio Valley Conference play with a 1 p.m., Sunday match against UT Martin at Morgan Bros. Soccer Field.

Friday's contest against North Dakota will be the first-ever meeting on the pitch between the Governors and Fighting Hawks. Austin Peay is 0-1 against teams from the Peace Garden State, having lost to North Dakota State, 2-1, in 2008. Thursday's match is the Fighting Hawks' first-ever contest against a team from the Volunteer State.

Sunday's match against UT Martin will serve as senior day and Austin Peay will honor four seniors – Rachel Bradberry, Kaylee Kraft, Delanie McKeon, and Peyton Powell – following the match.

Austin Peay's matches against the Fighting Hawks and Skyhawks, as well as all regular-season home matches this season, will be broadcast on ESPN+.

The Opposition

• All-time vs. North Dakota: 0-0-0
• All-time vs. the Fighting Hawks in Clarksville: 0-0-0
• Last Meeting: First meeting.
• Last Meeting in Clarksville: First meeting.
   

• All-time vs. UT Martin: 5-13-2
• All-time vs. the Skyhawks in Clarksville: 3-6-1
• Last Meeting: March 30, 2021 (L, 0-2) in Clarksville.
• Last Meeting in Clarksville:  March 30, 2021 (L, 0-2) in Clarksville.

After a sixth-place finish in the 2020 Summit League standings, North Dakota was tabbed to seventh by the coaches in the league's preseason poll. The Fighting Hawks are 2-5-0 to start the 2021 season and are on a three-match losing streak, with losses to Minnesota, Oregon State, and Portland in their last three outings.

Junior Bailey McNitt leads North Dakota with seven points this season, she has scored a team-best three goals and is tied for the team lead with one assist. Hannah Olson and Mara Yapello have both found the back of the net twice this season, Olson is also tied for the team lead with a single assist.

Junior goalkeeper Madi Livingston has started all seven games for the Fighting Hawks this season. Livingston recorded a shutout against Northern State and combined with Abby Ellenberger to shutout Southern.

UT Martin finished third in the 2020-21 OVC standings and was picked to finish fourth this year by the league's head coaches and sports information directors. The Skyhawks are off to a 4-3-1 start this season, with two of their losses coming at Indiana and nationally-ranked Arkansas.

The Skyhawks return a pair of 2020 First Team All-OVC selections in junior defender Maria Castaldo and sophomore forward Emely van der Vliet while graduate senior goalkeeper Eric Myers earned Second Team All-OVC honors. Myers has recorded 296 career saves in 6,457 minutes played, those marks rank seventh and sixth, respectively, among active NCAA Division I goalkeepers.

UT Martin ranks second in the OVC in points (33), goals (12), and assists (9) this season. The Skyhawks attack is led by Jill Hildreth and Bella Roberts, who are tied for the OVC lead with three goals apiece. The trio of van de Vliet, Jaden Hildreth, and Makayla Robinson have each found the back of the net twice, which is tied for the second-best mark in the OVC this season.

Notably

• Austin Peay has won three-straight road matches for the second time in program history and the first time since the 2005 season. 
• The Govs are unbeaten in their last four matches, matching the longest unbeaten streak during Naomi Kolarova's time in Clarksville. The 2018 squad went unbeaten from Sept. 7-16 in Kolarova's first season.
• Austin Peay has posted shutouts in back-to-back games, the last time the Govs recorded shutouts in three-straight games was the first three games of Kolarova's Austin Peay career in 2018.
• Senior Peyton Powell and junior Chloé Dion combined to shutout Alabama A&M, posting the Govs first combined shutout since Mary Parker Powell and Dion combined to keep a clean sheet against Morehead State on Oct. 18, 2019.
• Powell recorded her first career shutout against North Alabama, she is the first Austin Peay goalkeeper to record a solo shutout since Mary Parker Powell shutout Cincinnati in a 0-0 double-overtime draw on Sept. 21, 2019.
• Powell and Dion are the only pair of OVC teammates that rank in the top ten in the league in goals against average, save percentage, saves, and saves per game.
• Dion recorded a career-high nine saves and her first career win at Chattanooga, she ranks fourth in the OVC with 5.20 saves per game this season.
• Powell matched her career-high with seven saves at Lipscomb, she leads the OVC in goals against average (0.95) and ranks third in save percentage (80.0%).
• Graduate senior Gybson Roth scored her first goal of the season at Alabama A&M, she had not scored a goal since her freshman season against UT Martin on Oct. 8, 2017.
• Freshman Olivia Prock dished out her first assist in the 33rd minute and scored her first career goal in the 47th minute against Alabama A&M.
• Senior Rachel Bradberry scored her second goal of the season against Alabama A&M, her eight goals since the start of the 2019 season are the most by any Gov during that time.
• Alec Baumgardt scored her first career goal against North Alabama and picked up her first career assist at Alabama A&M; she was the first of the Govs' 12 freshmen to score a point this season.
• Claire Larose found the back of the net for the 17th time in her career against Evansville, she ranks fifth in goals, fifth in game-winning goals (6), sixth in points (42), and eighth in assists (8) in program history.

Fan Attendance

For fans wishing to attend Austin Peay soccer matches at Morgan Bros. Soccer Field, admission is free and there will be limited general admission seating available, with extra seating available pitch side. The roster card for each match is available by accessing the game notes attached to this article and viewing the final page.

Up Next

Austin Peay will play a 6:30 p.m., Sept. 30 match against Belmont at E.S. Rose Park in Nashville. The Governors then have Sunday off before traveling to Morehead State for a 5 pm., Oct. 7 contest. For news and updates on everything Governors soccer, follow along on Twitter or Instagram (@GovsWSOC) or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.