BOONE, N.C. - The 25th season in program history begins for Appalachian State University women's soccer this weekend. App travels to High Point to kickoff the season at 7 p.m. before hosting Campbell on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
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PROMOTIONS: Sunday's home opener will give a chance for fans to interact with the student-athletes following the contest, as the players will sign your 2018 poster!
About the Mountaineers
App State returns 19 letterwinners and six starters from last season, which includes a solid core in its two leading goal scorers in
Kat Greer (five goals) and
Ava Dawson (three goals), the leader in assists (
Emmily Cowie) and primary goalkeeper,
Taylor Ray. Also returning for Appalachian is
Jessica Easley, who finished tied for second with Cowie in minutes at 1,727 is back for her third season on the pitch. Looking to have breakout seasons are
Maggie Hanusek, who scored a goal and played in 19 matches with eight starts and
Alexa Asher (12 starts - 1145 minutes). App played in a pair of preseason exhibitions against ETSU (L; 4-1) and WCU at home, which concluded to a 1-1 tie. Scoring the goals for App in both contests was freshman,
Kirsten Seeley, and junior
Kristin Brown.
Scouting High Point
The Panthers are coming off a successful season in which they finished 13-8-1 en route to a Big South regular season title, Big South Conference Tournament championship and an NCAA Tournament berth. HPU has been a tough out at home with a 45-12-10 mark since 2010 and haven't lost in a home opener since 2013 to UNC Greensboro. HPU was picked to repeat as conference champions while it returns 17 letterwinners and three starters from last season.
Scouting Campbell
Campbell finished 10-7-2 last season with a trip to the Big South Tournament semifinals before falling to HPU, 3-1. The Camels were selected to finish third in the preseason poll while Alexa Genas was voted to win the Attacking Player of the Year honor after leading the league with 15 goals and 34 points. Campbell returns eight starters and 17 letter winners from the 2017 season.
Series History
High Point - App State is 3-4 all-time in seven matches against HPU with the Panthers capturing the last two matchups in 2016-17. App's last win in the series came in a 1-0 victory in 2015. It's been a tight series between the two foes, as five of the seven matches have resulted by one goal including a defensive battle in a 1-0 win for HPU in last season's opener. App is 2-2 all-time on HPU's home field with the previous road win coming in 2011, 3-2.
Campbell - The Apps are 2-6-2 all-time against Sunday's opponent. Campbell claimed a close 1-0 win last season while the last win for the Black and Gold came in 1999. The Mountaineers and Camels have only played three times since then.
What's Next
The Mountaineers will hit the road for a pair of matches next weekend. App will face Big Ten foe, Maryland, next Friday at 7 p.m. in College Park, Md. App closes the weekend with a 5 p.m. Sunday affair at Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va.