BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University field hockey (1-1) hosts a pair of games this weekend at Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field. The Mountaineers will battle LIU Brooklyn Friday at 7 p.m. and take on the Rider Broncs Sunday at noon.
About the Mountaineers
Appalachian opened its season with a 2-0 victory over the Towson Tigers. Freshman
Fredi Stegen notched her first career Mountaineers' goal late in the first half, putting App in front for good. In the second half, sophomore
Chloe Bell doubled the team's advantage with her first goal of the season. Sophomore
Meghan Smart, who leads the team in shots, assisted Bell's goal. The Mountaineers fell two days later to the visiting Georgetown Hoyas 2-0. The Black and Gold were persistent, outshooting the Hoyas 10-9. Stegen and sophomore
Annette Jarosz offered the best opportunities for the Mountaineers on the afternoon. In the first half, the Hoyas' goalkeeper denied Jarosz's penalty stroke while Stegen, the Laatzen, Germany, native fired a second-half shot that smacked off the post. Friday's victory over Towson marked the second-straight year that App began its season at 1-0.
Scouting LIU Brooklyn (0-2)
The Blackbirds also opened their season this past weekend, starting 0-2 after suffering close losses to St. Louis and Colgate. Against St. Louis on Friday, LIU Brooklyn allowed two goals in the second half in a 2-0 defeat. Two days later, the Blackbirds conceded two more second-half goals in a 2-1 loss against Colgate. LIU also scored its lone goal of the season in that second half. Sophomore Jenna Chrabolowski, the team's leading goal-scorer as a freshman in 2017, opened her account in the 42
nd minute to give LIU its sole lead of the season. The Blackbirds are looking for their first August victory since the program began in 2015.
Scouting Rider (0-1)
Rider is 0-1 this season after dropping its opening match to Drexel 8-2. The Broncs trailed Drexel only 2-1 at halftime, but the Dragons exploded in the second half with six goals. Junior Tess Coorens and sophomore Marion Waterkeyn scored the pair of goals on Friday. Coorens also leads the team with five shots. Freshman Julia Divorra notched an assist in her first collegiate game, feeding Waterkeyn for the game's opening goal. The Broncs begin their weekend slate at Davidson on Friday.
Series History
LIU Brooklyn – Appalachian is 1-0 against the Blackbirds after a dominant 8-1 victory in 2016. The win stands as the Mountaineers' largest margin of victory in the regular season since at least 2006.
Melissa Nobile and
Ali Williams, both freshmen at the time, netted a hat trick and scored a pair of goals respectively.
Rider – The Mountaineers are 0-6 against the Broncs. Appalachian lost two close matches – 3-2 in 2008 and 4-3 in 2007 – to open the series.
What's Next
The Mountaineers will hit the road for four games. App stays in North Carolina to open its road schedule at Davidson on Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.
