CHATTANOOGA – First half goals from Rachel Bradberry and Claire Larose set the stage for goalkeeper Chloé Dion's first career win, as Austin Peay State University's soccer team picked up its first win of the season in a 2-1 decision over Chattanooga, Friday, at the UTC Sports Complex.
Dion led Austin Peay (1-4-1) with a career-high nine saves, making seven saves in the second half to fend off a late Chattanooga (2-3-0) attack. After Dion's first save of the match in the fifth minute, the Governors scored their first two goals of the season, finding the back of the net on back-to-back shots.
Austin Peay's first goal came in the 17th minute, when Tori Case sent a corner kick into the goal area and Bradberry got a foot on the free ball, putting it past Chattanooga goalkeeper Abbey Sadler. The Governors second goal came in the 20th minute, when Larose picked up a loose ball at the top of the penalty box and fired a shot past Sadler to the top right corner of the net to double the lead.
Dion made her second and final save of the first half in the 41st minute, stopping a Mackenzie Smith shot to send Austin Peay to halftime with a 2-0 lead.
The second half saw Dion make saves on the first seven shots Chattanooga put on goal. The Mocs were finally able to best the Mirabel, Quebec native in net in the 86th minute, but the Samantha Shaw goal was not enough and the Govs held on to win, 2-1.
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Austin Peay returns home for its annual Go4TheGoal game when it hosts a 6 p.m., Thursday match against Evansville at Morgan Bros. Soccer Field. The Govs then hit the road for a 1 p.m., Sep. 12 match at North Alabama and a 3 p.m., Sep. 16 match at Alabama A&M.
Thursday's game against the Purple Aces, 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.
