BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University field hockey will enter the 2017 season riding the momentum of a 3-1 exhibition win over Davidson on Sunday at Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field.

"Our two exhibition games against Wake Forest and Davidson have really helped us see what we need to get better at and what we need to work on," said head coach Meghan Dawson. "Davidson is really athletic and scrappy, but we were able to change our tempo in the second half and had much better possessions, which will set us up for better success in the future."

The Mountaineers scored all three goals in the second half as Melissa Nobile led the attack with two goals while Abby Merrill netted a goal of her own. App made 14 shots to Davidson's eight as the Moutaineers also led the Wildcats in penalty corners with an eight to three advantage.

Davidson scored its lone goal of the match in the first half at the 26th minute on a Paige Albert pass to Kristin Kisa as the Wildcats went into the half with a 1-0 lead.

Nobile, the scoring leader from last season, scored her first goal off a Ali Williams pass in the 39th minute. The second Appalachian goal came after Rebecca McLean received a corner from Taylor Cimbalist in the 51st minute. McLean delivered a high pass towards the posts that Michelle Taylor deflected to Abby Merrill for the score and a 2-1 Mountaineer lead.

In the 68th minute, McLean intercepted a Davidson pass and then found Nobile for the sophomore's second goal of the match.

Rachel Gaines played all 70 minutes between the posts and allowed just one goal. The Ohio native made four saves against the eight Davidson shots. 

Appalachian will finish up its last week of preseason training before heading to Philadelphia for a matchup with La Salle on Friday, Aug. 25.