BOONE, N.C.  – The Appalachian State University field hockey team will host two exhibition matches this weekend against two Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) foes at the Brandon & Erica M Adcock Field Hockey Stadium. The Mountaineers will face Newberry College on Saturday, Aug. 20 at 9:45 a.m. and will match up against Limestone on Sunday, Aug. 21 at 3 p.m.

“This weekend is going to test us imposing our style onto another team, having confidence from the start, and working really hard,” said head coach Meghan Dawson. “Both teams are going to be really athletic and tough. This will be a really good test for us as a team.”

Silencing the Wolves

Newberry College finished the 2015 season 3-15 (0-6) and is ranked fifth on the ECAC field hockey preseason poll.

The Mountaineers have to combat the tough offense of the Wolves' Warren Duo who led the team in total points and goals last fall. Courtlyn Warren stood at the head of the pack scoring eight goals, collecting 17 points, administering 78 shots, and supplying 43 shots on goal. Caitlyn Warren brought the same intensity scoring five goals, earning 11 points, and dishing out 25 shots with 13 on goal.

Returning at net for the Wolves is Elzy Dakota who led the team in saves (111) and minutes played (1112:53).

As a whole, Newberry accumulated 21 goals, forced 198 shots, saved 130 shots, and averaged 1.17 goals scored per game.

Stopping the Saints

The Limestone field hockey team finished 11-6 (5-1) last year and are the two-time ECAC defending champions.

The Mountaineers will face an aggressive offense as the Saints remained undefeated at home and totaled 42 goals, 217 shots, 129 shots on goal, and averaged 2.47 goals scored per game over the course of their season. The Saints outshot their opponents 217-169 and accumulated 14 more goals than all the teams who challenged them.

Individually, Limestone will return First-Team All-Conference selection Kathleen Sigwart, who was crowned the 2015 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year after holding her opponents to under 10 shots per game.

Returning at net is First-Team All-Conference goalkeeper Tabria Cochran. Cochran led the Saints in total saves (53) and guarded the net for 1119:06 minutes. Last year, Cochran recorded a season-high of nine saves against opponent Lindenwood.

Last Game Highlights

Appalachian fell to Liberty 11-4 in the first exhibition match of the 2016 preseason … the teams played four, 15-minute periods with a sudden-death shootout … Liberty outshot App State 33-7 … Jordan Van Cleave scored the first goal of the 2016 preseason … Van Cleave scored three goals and junior Taylor Cimbalist scored one goal in the second period … Liberty won the shootout 5-4 … Rachel Gaines saved eight shots on goal.

Quick Notes

App State returns 10 student-athletes from the 2015-16 season …  the 2016 slate will be Appalachian's last season before entering into the Mid-American Conference in the fall of 2017 ... six starters return for the 2016 season including leading scorers Taylor Cimbalist (17 points), Micaela Diedericks (13 points) and Jordan Van Cleave (10 points) … last year the Mountaineers finished 4-13 in Independent play with key wins against Missouri State, La Salle, Saint Louis, and Davidson … head Coach Meghan Dawson and her two assistants Kerry Kiddoo and Danielle Freshnock are entering their second season at Appalachian … Record Book Watch: junior Taylor Cimbalist currently ranks second all-time in single-season assists (9) ... Appalachian's 2016 season opener will be Friday, Aug. 26 at the Brandon & Erica M Adcock Field Hockey Stadium in Boone, N.C. versus Ball State … App State will begin the season with back-to-back home games and two road tests against James Madison and LIU Brooklyn in early September.