Clarksville, Tennessee: — After a scoreless first 45 minutes, freshman Paige Chrustowski and third-year sophomore Ellie Dreas scored two goals in the first three minutes of the second half as the Austin Peay State University soccer team earned a 2-1 victory over Western Kentucky in its season opener Thursday at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
After Austin Peay (1-0) stripped Western Kentucky (0-1) of the ball on a throw-in in the first 25 seconds, the Governors fought for possession outside the Hilltoppers’ 16-yard box until Aniyah Mack circled the right side of the defense and fired a shot from 7.4 yards out that forced WKU’s Maddie Davis to charge and make the first save of the night.
Five minutes later, Alana Owens made her first attempt of the season, but it was blocked in the penalty area.
Lauryn Berry, the heroine of Austin Peay State University’s 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship first-round match against Kennesaw State, made her first career start between the posts for the APSU Govs and got her first shot saved in the 12th minute after diving to her right to deflect an attempt by WKU’s Georgia Liapis. The Hilltoppers got the next shot on goal of the game in the 29th minute, but that one too was saved by Berry.
Berry was able to save three shots in the first half, preventing a 0-0 draw on either side.
And then came the list of goalscorers.
After the WKU goalkeeper attempted to clear the ball, Hannah Zahn passed to Alana Owens, who found Chrustowski just outside the penalty area, who pushed the ball perfectly into the top right corner of the net.
First shot, first shot on goal and first goal for Chrustowski. First goal of 2024 for the hometown soccer team Clarksville.
But they weren’t finished yet.
The Governors got possession just 80 seconds later after a WKU throw-in when Carolyne Young played a pass to Alec Baumgardt a few yards in front of the Hilltoppers side. After a few dribbles from the veteran midfielder, she found the storming Dreas outside the box and fired the ball from the right side of the box to the far post to extend the lead.
Over the next 20 minutes, both sides tried repeatedly to score a goal until the Hilltoppers were able to reduce APSU’s lead with a try from the penalty spot in the 77th minute.
The only shot in the last 13 minutes came from an attempt by WKU in the 87th minute, which sailed over the crossbar.
And at the final whistle the score was 2-1 to the Govs, improving their season record to 1-0.
In the match report
Austin Peay State University improved to 6-14-2 in season openers and is now 1-1-1 in season openers under head coach Kim McGowan.
Austin Peay State University’s win over Western Kentucky is their second in series history, improving their overall record to 2-8-2 and 1-1 against the Hilltoppers under McGowan.
Paige Chrustowski scored her first career goal in the 47th minute.
Chrustowski is the first freshman to score a goal in her first career game since Gina Fabbro did so against Chattanooga on August 23, 2023.
Alana Owens provided her first assist on Chrustowski’s goal.
Ellie Dreas’ goal in the 48th minute was her first of the season and her fifth of her career.
With her assist for Dreas’ goal, Alec Baumgardt moves into 18th place on the all-time list with six assists, tied with five.
Lauryn Berry is the first Austin Peay State University goalkeeper to earn a win in her first career start since Mary Parker Powell helped lead the Govs to a 2-0 win over Evansville on August 28, 2016.
Paige Chrustowski, Paige Myers and Vivian Burke all made their first starts against the Hilltoppers.
Lindsey McMahon extended her team-best start streak to 57 games. The Fountain Hills, Arizona native has started every game she has appeared in during her four-year career.
McMahon, Berry and Alec Baugmardt led APSU by holding out until the end and playing all 90 minutes to earn the win.
The McGowan Minute
Postgae quotes from head coach Kim McGowan
General thoughts … “It was a great result to start the season. Since it’s the first game, of course no one is really prepared or feels really good yet, but I always use those feelings as anticipation. The first half was definitely a performance for both teams. We were able to start the second half with momentum. Just the first win at home in front of a great crowd really sets us up for a great performance that we can build on with an eye on Sunday’s game against Motlow State.”
For all outstanding achievements … “To be honest, the whole team really stood out to me. We benched a lot of players. Everyone contributed their part…I think our attacking unit did a good job tonight of scoring, because that’s an area we’ve been emphasizing in this game. Our defense was also able to withstand a lot of pressure from Western Kentucky and was able to stay clean and tight. Goals are going to come, but we’ll come back tomorrow and fix some things and continue to improve.”
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