BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University field hockey will travel to Davidson, N.C. to play back-to-back matches on the Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field against the Davidson Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6 p.m. and the Pacific Tigers on Saturday, Oct. 1 at noon.
App State (1-7) is coming off of two-straight losses against the California Golden Bears and the No. 7 Louisville Cardinals. Their match on Friday against Cal ended in a 2-1 decision, and the Cardinals outscored the Mountaineers 5-1 on Sunday. Despite the score, Appalachian produced great defensive performances spearheaded by Rachel Gaines' leadership at goalie. The Ohio native collected 20 saves over the weekend and tied her single-game high of 11 saves against Louisville.
In addition to Gaines' effort, the defensive wall erected by Rebecca McLean, Savanna Sheridan, Taylor Cimbalist, Keighly Adams and Kaley Selner protected the goal line with seven defensive saves over the two matches. In the battle against the Cardinals, Appalachian produced four defensive saves which ties for first in the nation for the most defensive saves in a single game. Due to App State's robust security of their side of the field, the Black and Gold now own ten defensive saves on the season, which ties for second in the nation.
The Mountaineers prepare to capitalize off of their defensive showing by snatching two victories this Friday and Saturday.
Whacking the Wildcats
The Davidson Wildcats (1-8, 0-3 A-10) have had a rocky start to their season grabbing their only win of their 2016 campaign against LIU Brooklyn.
In their matchup against the Blackbirds, the Wildcats defeated the team full of newcomers 8-1. Davidson saw goals from eight different players and impounded 20 shots, 12 shots on goal and received nine corners. The last time the 'Cats scored at least eight times was in 2011 when they defeated the Appalachian State 8-3.
On Friday, App State will face the offensive prowess of Anne Federico who leads the team in goals (3) and assist (3). The Mountaineers will also confront the Wildcat attack from Becca Jones and Katherine English who have a combined 50 shots with 28 on goal.
Leading the charge in the cage is Bean Rodriguez who has grabbed 39 saves and has 655:00 minutes under her belt.
App State has a long history between their North Carolina neighbor. The overall record between the two schools is 41-28 with the Wildcats holding the 13-game advantage. In the last match between App and Davidson on Oct. 11, 2015, the Mountaineers shut out the Wildcats 2-0 in Boone, which was Appalachian's fourth win of the 2015 season.
Tackling the Tigers
The Pacific Tigers (7-3) are coming off of a seven game winning streak after their victory over Missouri State on Monday 5-1. In their past three matches, the Tigers garnered 28 goals and are now the number one team in Division I in goals per game (5.89).
As a pack, the Tigers are also nationally ranked at the top of four more categories: assists per game (5.67), points per game (17.44), scoring average (5.73) and scoring margin (3.89). As a unit, Pacific has accumulated 58 goals, 229 shots, 125 shots on goal and 66 corners, and has been responsible for 38 saves.
In their 12-0 bout against LIU Brooklyn, Pacific collected three single-game highs with 12 goals (No. 2 in Div. I), 37 points (No. 1 in Div. I) and 13 assists (No. 1 in Div. I).Also, the 2016 squad set a Pacific record dishing out 43 shots with 21 targeted towards the goal.
App State will have to counter the offensive powerhouse of Marguerite van Wyk and Ash Rutherford. van Wyk has already gathered 12 goals, eight assists, 50 shots, 31 shots on goal and has provided two game winners. The South African native lands at No. 2 in the country for points per game with a 3.33 average and grabbed the No. 3 spot with a single-game high of 10 points after her performance against LIU. Right behind van Wyk is Ash Rutherford who has designed the perfect plays to set her teammates up to score with nine assists on the season, which ties for fourth in the nation in assist per game (0.89).
Protecting the goal line is Tiger goalkeeper Laura Pujade who has deflected 31 shots and played 628:47 minutes.
In the series history between App State and Pacific, the Tigers carry the 11-2 advantage over the Mountaineers. In the last match on Sept. 5, 2014, the Tigers rolled over App 6-1.
Quick Notes
In the last eight games, Melissa Nobile ties for the lead in scoring with four goals and one game-winner against LIU Brooklyn ... Taylor Cimbalist shares the lead in goals with four and ranks at the top in assists (4), shots (17), and shots on goal (12), ... Savanna Sheridan lands at No. 2 for total assists (3) ... freshman Ali Williams has three goals in the last eight games ... Rachel Gaines has collected 52 saves with a .650 save percentage ... App State field hockey will enter into the Mid-American Conference in the fall of 2017 ... six starters return for the 2016 season including leading scorers 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 … Record Book Watch: Junior Cimbalist currently ranks second all-time in single-season assists (9) ... Rebecca McLean is currently tied for fifth in single-season defensive saves with three ... Keighly Adams and Sheridan are tied at ninth with two defensive saves.
