CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILENOW) McKenzie Dixon headed home two second-half goals within six minutes of one another, leading Austin Peay State University’s soccer team to a 3-0 exhibition victory against Indiana State, Tuesday night at Morgan Brothers Soccer Field.
After a scoreless first half, Dixon broke through in the 70th minute, heading in a beautiful pass from Kristin Robertson back across the goal for the game’s first goal. Six minutes later, she repeated the feat by heading home a perfect cross from Jennifer Smith off the goalkeeper’s mitt for a 2-0 lead in the 76th minute.
Robertson added a goal to her tally late in the second half, winning a one-on-one battle and drilling the ball into the far side of the net in the 86th minute for a 3-0 lead.
“The first half was really chaotic, there was a lot of adrenalin out there,” said Governors head coach Kelley Guth. “We had a couple of young players out there starting today. At halftime we regrouped, said we needed to calm down and play a little bit. That and our fitness allowed us to take control.”
The late outburst made goalie Mary Parker Powell the winner with two second half saves. Starting netminder Lindsey Todd did a remarkable job in the first half, posting four saves and fending off seven Indiana State corner kicks.
“Both goalkeepers were outstanding today,” said Guth. “Lindsey was under a little more pressure in the first half, dealing with all the corner kicks and was flawless. [Mary Parker] came up with a big save in the second half. Overall I’m really pleased.”
Austin Peay faces a quick turnaround after Tuesday’s win, hitting the road for a Thursday exhibition contest at Western Illinois. The quick two matches will provide Guth another opportunity to evaluate her team before is August 18 regular-season opener at Chattanooga.
“This is a great time for us to learn about the grind, getting on the road and playing. I believe theres a lot of things we have to get better at. I hope we walk away from tonight excited about the result we got but knowing that we can be a lot better and we need to work at areas we can improve in.”