HIGH POINT, N.C. - Appalachian State University women's soccer (0-1) fell to a tough High Point (1-0) team, 4-0, on Friday evening at Vert Stadium.
The Mountaineers faced a formidable Panther squad that was picked to repeat as Big South champions this season while boasting a .746 win percentage at home since 2010.Â
App and HPU combined for 22 shots with nine of the shots on goal. HPU had five shots at the net while App did fire off four attempts on target. The difference was the Panthers capitalized on their opportunities. Despite the setback, the coaching staff saw some positives they can carry over into Sunday's 1 p.m. home opener against Campbell and what the team can improve on.
"Tonight was a tough night against a high-quality High Point team," head coach
Sarah Strickland said. "High Point is a regular NCAA Tournament participant, and someone we always play early to evaluate where we need to improve. While we saw some positives tonight, we definitely saw a lot of specific areas we have to focus on. We look forward to training tomorrow and hosting Campbell on Sunday."
Appalachian had two opportunities late in the first period with
Jessica Peters firing away a shot to the net at 36', while
Tess Cairney's header seven minutes later was saved by the HPU goalkeeper. With the score at a 0-0 deadlock in the first 43 minutes of the contest, the Panthers struck first to take a 1-0 lead going into the break.Â
Following a second goal from the Panthers,
Jamie Palermo gave App its third attempt at a goal and a chance to get on the board but was saved by Talia Klimes. HPU would tack on two more goals to put the game away.Â
Taylor Ray earned the nod in the net playing all 90 minutes. Four other Mountaineers played all 90 minutes in
Alexa Asher,
Jessica Easley,
Emmily Cowie and
Kristin Brown. Earning their first-career start was sophomore
Mary Perkins.
Molly Niewald also recorded the first start of her collegiate career. She's the first freshman since
Lauren Burke registered her first-career start last season.Â
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