The Lady Govs (3-3) lost 1-0 in a nail-biting clash with the South Alabama Jaguars on Friday, Sept. 9. at the Morgan Brothers soccer field in Clarksville, Tennessee. USA won the game with under 5 minutes on the clock as Danielle Henley ushered the ball onto goal and into the net.
Despite being shutout for the first time this season, APSU flourished in creating offensive chances based on free runners in off ball situations. Lady Govs McKenzie Dixon and Pamela Penaloza led the charge with two shots each.
Sophomore Katie Costantino and Penaloza provided chances in the late stages of the first half, but the Jaguars (4-2-1) defensive wall could not be broken.
Freshman Mary Parker Powell started the match, and stood in for the entire 90 of the clash. Powell totaled four saves.
APSU led the way in shots for the second half, 6-5. Included in that was Dixon forcing a save out of Jaguars Justice Stanford. Brianna Avitabile forced another save from Stanford in the waining seconds via a long-range effort.
“I think it was our best 90 minutes of soccer,” head coach Kelley Guth said. “We talked all week about improving the width of the field, and I definitely saw progress tonight. I’m extremely proud of the girls for their grit and hard work. We had a number of players step up – I thought Katie Costantino was phenomenal tonight and Bri (Avitabile) gave us a spark in the midfield.”
The loss continues a three game losing streak for the Lady Govs.
