The All State

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Assistant Sports Editor

On Friday, Oct. 8, at Morgan Brothers’ Soccer Field, it was 45 seconds left in the game before a goal was scored. Freshman phenom Tatiana Ariza chipped Jacksonville State’s goalkeeper for the 1-0 OVC win for APSU (10-4 overall, 2-2-1 OVC).

After a fury of Lady Govs’ attacks, the JSU keeper sent a kick into the midfield and was fielded by the Lady Govs’ defense. With time winding down, the defense sent a pass to Joceline Quiceno, who found Ariza and chipped JSU’s Ali Koenig for the game winner.

“It was a great finish for Tatiana,” Lady Govs head coach Kelley Guth said in a press release.

“She had a number of those opportunities throughout the night. She took the ball out of the air, got a good first touch and just put it away.”

Even with the crucial OVC victory, Coach Guth was frustrated with the level of production.

The Lady Govs dominated JSU in shots 21-2 with nine being saved by the JSU defense.

“It was frustrating, but it was a fun game to watch,” Guth said.

“We have to keep building on being that team that goes after teams and the goals will come. It was hard not being able to execute the way we wanted to, but it was a great end to the game.”

Ariza led the Lady Govs’ attack with seven shots with four on goal, while Quiceno ripped five shots respectively. The Lady Govs dominated the statistical categories with 11 corner-kicks to JSU’s zero kicks.

Carley Newman held her lines in goal for the Lady Govs, stopping two shots while JSU’s Koenig stopped eight shots.

With the win, the Lady Govs have achieved the 10-win mark for the first time in the program’s history in front of former Lady Gov players on hand for Alumni night. The win also gives the Lady Govs a boost in the OVC standings as they continue to try to get into the post season for the first time since the 2006-2007 season.

The Lady Govs are in a three-way tie for fifth place with Murray State and Eastern Illinois with only three conference games remaining.

“This was a huge win for us and so crucial at this time of the year,” Guth said. “It’s all about what we do from here on out and we’re going to take it one game at a time. We’re really excited and I’m really proud for our girls tonight.”

The Lady Govs return to action Friday, Oct. 15 to take on the OVC leader Morehead State on the road with a 7 p.m. kick-off.

APSU will return home for the final home game of the season to take on Eastern Kentucky Sunday Oct. 17 with a 2 p.m. kickoff. TAS

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Assistant Sports Editor

The Lady Govs went on the road over the weekend to take on UT Martin on Friday, Oct. 1, and traveled to rival Murray State on Sunday, Oct. 3. The Lady Govs (9-4-1 overall, 1-2-1 OVC) dropped Friday’s match 1-0, while drawing 0-0 with Murray State.

“I’m really pleased with our performance today,” head coach Kelley Guth said in a press release. “Even though we didn’t score, we played very well. We got back on track, as far as being dangerous in the attacking third. We created a lot of opportunities and made them defend us.”

The offense came alive ripping 21 shots, but Murray State goalkeeper Tara Isbell held her line strong, not giving up any goals. Leading the Govs with a game-high eight shots with four being on goal was Joceline Quiceno. Tatiana Ariza added four shots, with three on goal respectively.

The Lady Govs offense attacked in the two overtimes gaining five corner kicks, but could not manage a goal.

In Friday’s match against UT Martin, the Lady Govs dropped the contest 1-0.

The Lady Govs offense dialed up seven shots, five of which were on goal, but could not put them in the back of the net.

“It was a battle the whole match,” Guth said, “just like every conference match is going to be. The fact is, our offense has to step up and get it done.”

Jocelyn Murdoch and Quienco both lead the Lady Govs with two shots on goals each.

In goal, Carley Newman had six saves in goal allowing the only goal on a deflection from two of her saves in the 37th minute. Since starting the OVC season off with a 1-0 win over Eastern Illinois on Friday, Sept. 24, the Lady Govs are 0-2-1 and have been held goal less.

With the 0-0 draw Sunday, the Lady Govs have 10 shutouts this season.

“It’s all about how our team is playing on the field and I believe the results will come,” Guth said after Friday’s match at UT Martin. “We need to gain momentum from today’s game. Every game is so close and such a battle. You have to be able to execute and finish. I thought we had a bit of drop off the last two games, but we were still competitive.

“The most important thing is that we come out and play the way we did today. If we do that, the goals will come and the wins will come.”

The Lady Govs will return to action Friday, Oct. 8, for a home match against Jacksonville State. Kick off is set for 7 p.m. TAS

By MARLON SCOTT | Senior Staff Writer

The Lady Govs soccer team accomplished something on Friday, Sept. 24, at Morgan Brother’s field they had not done in two years.

They won an Ohio Valley Conference game.
When freshman Tatiana Ariza slipped past several Eastern Illinois defenders and took a shot on goal that bounced off both an Eastern Illinois player and a post before going into the net, she not only scored the game winner, she also eliminated any lingering doubts about the complete turnaround of the soccer team from last season.

The game against Eastern Illinois was one of two OVC games the Lady Govs played at home this weekend. After defeating the Panthers, 1-0, Friday, Sept. 24 they lost Sunday, Sept. 26, against Southeast Missouri, 1-0.

The loss ended a 6-0 home winning streak and was only the Lady Govs’ third loss this season. At 9-3 overall and 1-1 in the OVC, the Lady Govs are erasing the memory of not being able to find a way to win last season.

The Lady Govs finished last season with only one victory. They were a dismal 1-13-4 including 0-6-2 in the OVC. They scored only eight goals and were shutout 14 times.

The win over Eastern Illinois was the 10th time the Lady Govs shutout their opponents so far this season. They scored eight goals in their home opener and have already scored 26 total so far.

The drastic change can be attributed to the feet of freshmen like Ariza. Ariza is the teams’ leading scorer with 16 points. Also new to the team and adding offense are the twin sisters Andy and Joceline Quiceno.

Andy is second on the team with 13 points. Her sister Joceline has scored seven. Rounding out the offensive freshman quartet is Emily Kink. Kink has found the net 10 times this semester, tied with junior Jocelyn Murdoch.

The freshman offensive explosion is balanced by experienced defense. Seniors Michelle Johnson and Samantha Northrup hold down the middle of the field. Backing them up in front of the net is senior Carley Newman.

Newman has an 8-2 record and leads the team with four shutouts. She hauled in four saves in the loss to Southeast Missouri.

The Lady Govs are currently ranked third in the OVC. Ahead are six straight conference games, only two of which will be at home. Without winning one more game, they have already surpassed outsider’s expectations this season. After all, this time last year they were hoping just to score a goal.

However, the Lady Govs have their own expectations this season and they do not include not winning another single game.

Next, they will face UT Martin Friday, Oct. 1, in Martin, Tenn., and then play APSU’s heated rival, Murray State in Murray, Ky., Sunday, Oct. 3. TAS

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Assistant Sports Editor

The Lady Govs capped off their non-conference schedule Sunday, Sept. 19, with a 1-0 win over a tough Valparaiso team.

The Quiceno twins crafted together the games only goal in the 49th minute when Joceline Quiceno passed the ball to her sister Andy where she buried it in the back of the net for the win.

“I am really excited for our team today, we came out and played 90 minutes of our game and got the result,” said head coach Kelley Guth. “We got the opportunity to put one away, we did so and we preserved the shut out.”

The win improved the Lady Govs to 8-2 overall and 5-0 at home throughout the non-conference season. Throughout the win streak, APSU has scored 11 goals while the defense has been perfect in shutting out the visitors. The Lady Govs have outshot opponents 84-26, including 43-12 shots-on-goal advantage.

The Lady Govs defense held Valparaiso (4-3-2) to only five shots total for the game. While the Lady Govs were out shot in the first half four to three, Lady Gov goalkeeper Carley Newman stepped on with two big stops to keep the game knotted at nil-nil.

The second half was a much different story for the Lady Govs as they picked up the intensity with eight shots to Valparaiso one.

The attacking Lady Govs kept Valparaiso’s on their half of the field while ripping eight shots in the final period.

Tatiana Ariza and Jocelyn Murdoch’s five goals lead the Lady Govs apiece, while Emily Kink is third with four goals. Andy Quiceno leads the way with seven assists respectively.

“We have a number of young players getting significant minutes right now,” Guth said. They have added so much to our team and make us even more dynamic.”

With the non-conference schedule complete the Lady Govs look to end a 15 conference-losing streak dating back to Sept. 26, 2008 when they defeated Jacksonville State last.

“I thought today would be very important for us because they have gotten a good result against teams in our conference and it would be a good marker for us,” Guth said.

“We move our focus to EIU and SEMO which is two most important games of our season because it is the first two conference game. We have to focus on what our team needs to do to find success, execute out game plan and we need to do it this week in training. “

The Lady Govs will open the conference slate Friday, Sept. 24 against Easteren Illinois with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Morgan Brothers Field. TAS

By ANTHONY SHINGLER | Assistant Sports Editor

The APSU Lady Govs took the pitch over the weekend at the Jacksonville State/Adidas Gamecocks Classic splitting matches with Southern (0-4-1) and Southeastern Louisiana (6-0-1).

In game one, the Lady Govs (6-2) got on the scoreboard in the 34th minute by a goal from Tatiana Ariza with the assistance of Monique Wong.

After firing and missing shots on goal, Joceline Quiceno finally found the back of the net in the 62nd minute on one of Tatiana Ariza three assists.

Ariza other two assists came on goals in the 80th and 81st minute from Andy Quienco to give the Lady Govs their sixth win of the season.

In the final game of the tournament, the Lady Govs took on undefeated Southeastern Louisiana and lost 2-1.

“We played really well the first half, probably the best 45 minutes we’ve played all season,” head coach Kelley Guth said in a APSU Sports Information press release. “We just didn’t put away our chances. We looked like we got a little comfortable in the second half. We didn’t execute and they scored two goals. We had a number of chances we should’ve scored.”

The Lady Govs took an early 1-0 lead thanks to a gift from Southeastern Louisiana’s own goal in the eighth minute. But could not find any more offense even though they out shot their foes 18-13.

“We have to take advantage of chances when we have them in order to not let teams back into the game,” Guth said. “I give a lot of credit to Southeastern Louisiana because they didn’t quit. They kept plugging away and playing hard; it paid off for them. Hopefully, we’ll learn from this.”

Southeastern Louisiana equalized the Lady Govs 1-1, in the 70th minute from Cambri Prevost.

After firing away the Lady Govs could not break Lacey Bockhaus strong hold in goal and took the game away in the 82nd minute on Lauren Stillians game winner.

After the game, Andy Quiceno, Tatiana Ariza and Natalia Ariza were honored with their performances being named to the all tournament team.

Tatiana Ariza and Andy Quiceno are tied for the team lead in assists with four, while Jocelyn Murdoch still leads the team in goals with four and Tatiana Ariza is tied with Emily Kink with three goals a piece.

The Lady Govs will return home for a final tune up against Valparaiso, Sunday, Sept. 19, before the OVC regular season is kicked off. TAS

The Lady Govs soccer team blew out Alabama A&M Tuesday night to open up a four game home stretch 6-0.

The Lady Govs (7-2) got on the board in the second minute when Natalia Ariza ripped a free kick into the back of the net.

Two minutes later sister Tatiana broke up the left side to push the lead to 2-0 in the fourth minute thanks to a pass from Andy Quiceno.

The Ariza twins again showed why they are dangerous when Natalia fed her sister Tatiana a pass that pulled the goalkeeper out of goal and buried the shot in the back of the net in the 23rd minute.
The Lady Govs would strike again in the 67th minute when Monique Wong scored off a rebound that hit the goal post.
Four minutes later Jocelyn Murdoch scored off an assist from Andy Quiceno in the 71st minute off a deflection by the Alabama A&M goalkeeper.
To finish the game off the win Emily Kink would get on the score sheet to finish the game off in the 85th minute with a goal from Corey Osborn to take the victory.