By MARLON SCOTT Senior Staff Writer
If this were a movie, the Lady Govs soccer team would have won.

Like all classic sports movies, this team won only one game last season would have walked into Jayne Stadium Sunday, Nov. 7, dressed in their white uniforms (because they are the good guys) and battled the bigger, better and meaner Morehead Lady Eagles who beat them earlier this season in an epic championship game.

The score would have remained 1-1 until the last second of the game. Then, a Lady Gov player who has not scored a goal all year would have closed her eyes and kicked the ball just past the outstretched fingers of the diving goalkeeper.

But this is not a movie and the reality is the Lady Govs walked into Jayne Stadium Sunday, Nov. 7 in their black uniforms, played in the OVC Championship final and lost 2-1.

Although the reality does not make a great sports movie, it does make history.

The 2010 Lady Govs soccer team were one step away from an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. No team in the program’s history has ever made it to the NCAA tournament. Since the program’s start in 2002, only two other teams have played in the OVC tournament.
This is the only team to make it to the championship game.

In addition, it was done after a season with the programs second worse record (1-13-14), making this the biggest turnaround in program history as well.

“Of course, getting to this level in the conference is our goal every year,” said head coach Kelley Guth.

“The accomplishment to reach the championship game this year after last season being chosen to finish ninth in the conference is a tribute to our team and our girls.”

The 2010 Lady Govs soccer team is the winningest team in the programs history with a 15-6-1 record.

From 2007-2009, the teams had won one conference game. This team won four.

After being shutout 13 times last season, this team was only shutout four times and shutout their opponents 13 times.

Shutouts were only one of many categories in which the Lady Govs led the conference.

They were at the top of the conference in shots, goals, points and attendance. Also at the top of the statistics were the Lady Govs’ leading scorers,Tatiana Ariza and her sister Natalia Ariza.

Tatiana led the team in goals, including six game winners. It was the most game winners in the conference.

She also led the conference in points and was second in the conference in goals and shots.

Natalia was as dynamic as her sister.

She was second on the team in goals and game winners. In addition, she was second in the conference in game winners and was in the top ten in goals and points.

The Ariza sisters’ offense was helped most by Andy Quiceno, who led the team and the conference in assists.

Quiceno and the Ariza sisters are key examples of the additions to the team this season responsible for the remarkable turnaround.

Although the play of the six savvy seniors on the team — Monique Wong, Carley Newman, Mary Beth Burchett, Samantha Northrup, Michelle Johnson and Hannah Jones — was also essential to the team’s success and will be missed next year, fans of the team have to be, excited about the programs future with freshmen like Ariza.

“We have laid a foundation here. This year has been remarkable. The team has accomplished so much. I am so proud of them and we are only going to get better from here,” Guth said. TAS

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