BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – Sophomore forward Fernanda Araya continued her torrid postseason tear as No. 2 seed Ohio Valley earned a first-round playoff win in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional on Thursday.
 
The Fighting Scots blanked No. 7 seed Ashland, 1-0, as Araya’s seventh-minute score held up to be the game winner.
 
Araya has now scored six times in the postseason, including a hat trick registered in the semifinals against Findlay. She also recorded the game-winning goal in the championship game against Walsh.
 
It was the first NCAA Championship win for OVU’s resurgent program under head coach Luis Rincon after experiencing a first-round exit in last year’s national tournament against Bellarmine.
 
But that experience paid off as a learning experience and this year’s group was poised and unfazed by the expectations going in. The Fighting Scots buckled down on the back line and senior keeper Kim Mora made eight saves in the defensive gem.
 
The Fighting Scots duplicated their efforts from a year ago, culminating with the conference regular season and tournament championships captured last weekend at Marietta College in Ohio.
 
OVU earned its ticket into the women’s soccer bracket as the league’s automatic qualifier and conference tourney-up Walsh also received an at-large selection.
 
The Fighting Scots now await the winner of No. 3 and region host Ferris State and No. 6 McKendree.
 
OVU will next play Saturday, Nov. 10, with a noon ET start time for the second round of the regional. The Fighting Scots are now 18-2-3 overall on the season.