FORT MYERS, Fla. – For the first time in nearly a decade, Austin Peay State University's soccer team is postseason victors, as the Governors defeated Kennesaw State in penalty kicks, 3-2, during the first round of the 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Soccer Championship, Thursday, on Pickering Field at the FGCU Soccer Complex.

Freshman Lauryn Berry, who appeared in four matches during the regular season, toed the line for Austin Peay during penalty kicks, making four stops and secured the Governors' first-ever victory in the ASUN Women's Soccer Championship.

Let's rewind…

Austin Peay (5-10-5) entered their first postseason as a member of the ASUN Conference as the No. 7 seed and faced No. 6 Kennesaw State in the first round of the tournament. 

It had been nearly a decade since the Governors' last postseason win – nine years, 11 months, and 19 days to be exact – when they defeated Southeast Missouri in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference Championship. 

Austin Peay opened the match tallying the first two shots of the afternoon, with Hannah Wilson and Alana Owens firing attempts in the fourth and ninth minute, respectively. 

After a pair of KSU shots, Ellie Dreas and Alec Baumgardt then recorded a pair of shots on goal, but KSU's Charlee Bernal stepped up to make the saves and keep both sides off the board.

Junior goalkeeper Katie Bahn made a pair of saves in the opening half to keep the two sides at a scoreless stalemate. 

Bahn tallied her third save of the evening less than three minutes into the second half on KSU's second attempt. 

Baumgardt, Tori Case, and Annabel Anderson then had a pair of attempts on net before the 60th minute.

Kennesaw State broke the ice in 79th minute on a breakaway, dribbling past Bahn in the goalie box to take a 1-0 lead with under 12 minutes remaining.

Just 1:02 later, off a Case corner, Ellie Dreas connected with Alec Baumgardt who found Dreas within six yards to tie the match at one in the 80th minute.

The Govs' defense stood tall following the score, with Bahn tallying a save 15 seconds later, and the defense recording three-straight blocks in the 82nd minute. The score remained tied at one heading into overtime. 

Kennesaw State tallied all four shots featured in the first-of-two overtime periods, but Bahn saved the first, two sailed wide of the net, and the other was blocked by APSU.

The Owls outshot the Govs in the second 10-minute overtime period, but Case registered a 104th-minute shot on frame that was saved by Bernal.

No scoring, on to PKs.

Baumgardt was first to the dot. Her attempt to left-center was halted by Bernal.

KSU's Maddy Baucom steps up to face Berry, fires to the left post where Berry makes contact and the ball hits the post and rolls out.

Bahn's up next, goalkeeper against goalkeeper. Her attempt tucks into the top-right of the net for the Govs first score in PKs. 1-0 Govs 

Kennesaw State answers on their next attempt with a shot by Tianna Rivera to the upper-right end of the net. 1-1

Hannah Zahn steps up next for APSU and records the Govs' second-straight, tucking the ball in the top-left of the net. 2-1 Govs.

Alia Swinton fires an attempt to Berry's right, but the Lee's Summit, Missouri native blocks the shot. Still 2-1 Govs.

Case's up next, but her attempt sails left of the pipes. No change in score.

Stella Allen breaks KSU's streak of misses, with her attempt to top-center beating Berry, who dashed to the shot-taker's right.

Maddy Bellisari and KSU's Jade Barkett were next to the dot, but Bellisari's attempt was corralled by Charlee and Barkett's sailed high of the net.

Another freshman to the dot in Alexis Shuster. She lines up against Bernal with arms out stretched, shoots to the left. Made it. 3-2 Govs. One more attempt for the Owls.

Mackenzie Anuska is up for KSU, Berry dives to her left.

Match set and won. Govs win. History made.

Up Next

The Governors remain in Fort Myers, Florida, as they prepare for a 12 p.m., Sunday match against host and No. 3 Florida Gulf Coast.

Inside the Box Score

• Austin Peay improved to 0-0-1 all-time in the Atlantic Sun Conference Women's Soccer Championship.
• Austin Peay improved to 4-7-2 all-time in postseason matches.
• The Governors won their first postseason match since a 1-0 victory against Morehead State in the quarterfinals of the OVC Championship in 2013.
• The Govs improve to 1-1 all-time in PK matches, with their only previous match that went to PKs resulting SIUE defeating APSU in the quarterfinals of the 2016 OVC Championship.
• Ellie Dreas became the first Gov to score in the postseason since McKenzie Dixon netted an 82nd-minute goal against Southeast Missouri in the first round of the 2017 OVC Championship. 
• With the win, Kim McGowan is the fastest head coach to earn a postseason win in program history.

Coach's Corner

With Head Coach Kim McGowan

On the win… "Today was the definition of a team effort – from the people on the field, to our subs coming off the bench, to the bench's energy the entire time, to our support staff all with us, people being asked to perform in jobs that they necessarily were not asked to all season. The penalty kicks were also huge. We put in our freshman goalkeeper Lauryn Berry for PKs and she came up huge for some stops. We had some people that had the confidence to step up and take PKs. Overall, from player one to 29, we had a total team effort and it is a really good feeling."

On the first postseason win in nearly 10 years… "I told the commentators before the match that the breaking point was coming for us on getting a result… we knew that if we could punch our ticket, that we were right on the cusp of being really, really good. The fact that it wasn't only our first win of our ASUN Era, but that it was also the program's first postseason win in 10 years, I think that not only speaks volumes of the current players, but also the players that are committed to the program and those that will join us as we move forward and continue this that we don't go another 10 years without a postseason win ever again."

On the quick turnaround to Sunday's match… "Our high-minute players will definitely be in recovery mode. We will be able to rest, but I believe that team time also is super important, so we will be able to get a good gameplan. Especially in postseason, it is much more important to get mental reps than physical reps, so we'll show them a little bit more film… the mental reps will be very important to us, in addition to getting with our trainer and making sure we are feeling as great as we possibly can heading into Sunday's game."

Follow The Govs On Social

For news and updates throughout the Governors' 2023 campaign, follow the soccer team on Twitter, Instagram, and Tik Tok (@GovsWSOC) and on Facebook (Austin Peay Soccer). Or check back at LetsGoPeay.com.